1 comments about Sigmund Freud.

1. I read this book many years ago. Good info about Frued . Read it and bought it because you cant go wrong with Ralph Steadman.Outstanding drawings asif I had to tell you that.

1 comments about Elegant Arches, Soaring Spans: C.B. McCullough Oregon's Master Bridge Builder.

1. I really enjoyed this book. The story of McCullough's life is very interesting, and his legacy is profound. He has built so many bridges around the state, and they are all beautiful! I highly recommend this book if you are at all interested in bridges or just a little Oregon history.

4 comments about Endless Frontier: Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century.

1. Zachary deserves great credit for writing a book that offers many virtues and lessons of lasting relevance. Because the author's commitment is worthy of his subject, this book should have timeless value. The roles for science and technology and how best to harness them for prosperity and for security to enable the preservation of peace are questions which transcend any particular time.
   
   The subtitle, Engineer of the American Century, is justified. Bush contributed to American society in many ways. He was a fecund, tireless inventor, helping launch Raytheon Corporation. He was dedicated to boosting the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and thereby strengthening society through teaching and seeking practical knowledge. He was a pioneer and convenor of advances in computing.
   
   Clear-mindedly appreciating the gathering evil of Nazi Germany, Bush decided to do something, as typical. He left MIT and got to Washington as head of the Carnegie Institution. Though a Republican, he persuaded President Franklin Roosevelt that those who were technically educated needed to be harnessed within a National Defense Research Committee, in service to their nation's needs. By helping harness the extraordinary abilities of civilian and academic technologists to serve their nation in meeting the challenges of World War II, Bush helped unleash a cornucopia of inventions and advances in thinking, with extraordinary economic legacies (computing, electronics, medicine, radar).
   
   A few words from Zachary:
   --Bush's "was a life not of looking back, but of charging ahead."
   --He had a "commitment to excellence and integrity that reinforced his belief in the power of one person to make a difference."
   --"Bush shared Eisenhower's unease about the alliance between academia, the military, and industry"
   --"The proliferation of nuclear weapons, the rise of environmental hazards, and the evident political partisanship of many scientists - all combined to engender a cynicism in the public about the aims and evidence of science."
   
   Several other books of possible interest in relation to the contributions of technologists:
   Philip Taubman, Secret Empire (2003)
   James Phinney Baxter, Scientists Against Time (1946)
   Biographies of Edwin Land
   James Killian, Sputniks, Scientists, and Eisenhower (1977). Killian was a 1950s Bush, down to earth and his book is movingly endowed with wisdom.



2. More than one person has written on this page that Vannevar Bush is "little known", "forgotten", etc. I am only 54 years old, but I remember seeing Bush's name in print many, many times while growing up. He was always described as crucial to American military and technological supremacy since 1943 or so. A few of his accomplishments: He mobilized American science and engineering during WWII. His leadership was crucial to the Manhattan project. His differential analyzer led to MIT's Lincoln Labs playing an important role in the rise of information technology. He was Claude Shannon's teacher.



3. This is a very well written and entertaining book about a scientific administrator who played a major effort in organizing the technical responses required to anticipate and successfully meet the challenges of WWII. His skillful analysis, technical comprehension and political astuteness not only provided outstanding leadership at the time but shaped the intractions of goverment, industry and the academic community in such a fashion as to remain intact to this time. One comes awawy with an enormous respect for Dr. Bush. He must have been one tough character and difficult to deal with but he got the jobs done. It is a pity that his battles with Admiral Ernest King have, to my knowledge, never been documented. The issues they disagreed about were not trivial and their interactions must have been awesome. I read this book shortly after completing Tycho's Island and the similarity between the two men and the administrative issues they dealt with is both striking and illuminating.

   Good men are hard to find and good books about them deserve our attention.




4. A very interesting and thorough biography of Vannevar Bush, who more than any other individual is responsible (for good or for ill) for the shape of today's scientific establishment. Well-written and engaging, with lots of interesting historical tidbits and good insight on the personalities involved. Excellent!

No comments about Where Our Food Comes From: Retracing Nikolay Vavilov's Quest to End Famine.

5 comments about What Would Walt Do?: An Insider's Story about the Design and Construction of Walt Disney World.

1. for had I paid money for this book, I would be quite upset. The book is written as if the reader has an IQ of 50. There are many typos and poor sentence construction. These typos are even evident on the back cover of the book. I am surprised an editor would have let this book go to publication in the way it stands. Even worse, the author uses a supposed history book about WDW to rant about his own political views. I don't care what one's political thoughts are when I am supposed to be reading a book about the design and construction of WDW. Several pages are devoted to the author's views about unions and past presidents. He states that Walt was anti-union, and then takes this opportunity to write a few pages on why HE is anti-union. Who cares? Then there is a favorite quote of mine on page 22, "Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as President, and he seemed to me to be a real jerk." Again, what does this have to do with the topic on hand? There are many other great books about the creation of the theme parks and Disney's vision. Do not waste your time on this one.



2. Being a Disney fanatic, I always seek out books about Disney and Disneyland/World. This book was very interesting in the fact that it was more about the author's life during the construction phase of WDW. It did contain some interesting nuggets of information regarding the park but it was mostly a personal story about the author, his family, friends and coworkers during the construction of WDW. Not exactly what I was hoping for but it was an interesting read.



3. What Would Walt Do? is a first hand look through the eyes of a young civil engineer into the contruction of Walt Disney World from Walt's Seventh Premliminary Plan to Opening Day, 23 October 1971. It's a good read for engineering students, "wannabee" engineers and lovers of all things Disney. Readers will smile at the story of Levi, the arm wrestling champion of champions; the author's night on the town with an "Acadian Queen" and amused when engineers and technicians are dumped into a very cold Reedy Creek from a supposedly all terrain (including water) 4 wheel drive vehicle called a "Coot." The Coot was hoot!
   
   Although the author had never met Walt Disney who died in 1966, he learned through the leadership of Walt's brother Roy and others with long standing at Disney to apply to difficult construction decisions, union conflicts, contractor disputes, quality control issues the question: "What Would Walt Do?" In their considering that question, the ideal always sought was to apply Walt's standards of quality and safety to accomplish even the smallest details in the spirit of Walt's Dream. The ultimate compliment came on opening day from Walt's widow Lily who said, "I think Walt would have approved."
   
   Other accounts of this remarkable engineering/construction feat may be more technical or more historically accurate. However, WWWD gives insight not only into the day to day operation, construction ups and downs, but also into the personal lives of the men and women who helped to bring Walt's dream into a reality. They were a very special team who soon realized that after the gates had opened, the Boston Pops had played and Mickey had paraded....they had left a part of themselves in the dirt, steel and cement that covered hundreds of acres of Central Florida called Walt Disney World.



4. A very short book. No pictures. Lots of fluff. Information about the author that has nothing to do with Walt Disney takes up pages in the book. Stories about mean foremen and inspectors. Boring.

   What would Walt do? He'd do it right no matter what the expense. There. Save your money and buy a good book on Disney.




5. The book was an easy read BUT was really an autobiography of the author and his life. It's about his working days, especially while working on the constrction of WDW. Besides the very infrequent mention of the title "What Would Walt Do" there was next to nothing in the book about Walt's philosophies, work ethic and thought processes. Not what I exptected or what the title infers.

1 comments about Galileo and the Scientific Revolution.

1. What a great book on Galileo told in an interesting story-like manner. There is a nice balance between his life and scientific work,nicely translated by Laura Fermi, widow of the famous Italian physicist Enrico Fermi of atomic reactor fame...I liked the short digressions to inform us of the times in which Galileo lived and struggled so much...The well-balanced view on the Inquisition which sentenced Galileo is nicely written...I have read five different books on Galileo---this is the best small-volume introduction to Galileo...essential reading for scientists and science teachers in high schools and colleges

5 comments about Marie Curie: A Life (Radcliffe Biography Series).

1. I've admired Marie Curie (born Maria Sklowdowska in Russian-occupied Poland) longer than I can remember, quite literally. I first read her biography in a "written for children" edition while I was in grade school - Grade 5, perhaps? When I sat in my first day of Laboratory Chemistry class, as a high school junior, I bit my tongue half off as the teacher included this gem of wisdom in his opening remarks: "I know you girls are only taking this class because you need it to get into college. I'll go easy on you. After all, there are very few Marie Curies in the world!" I still wish I'd had the guts to be sent to the office for saying the words that rose up without my bidding them: "And just as few Pierre Curies, Mr. ****."
   
   Anyway, perhaps that anecdote offers a clue as to how much Madame Curie's biographies have meant to me as I've read them over the years. This most recently published one draws on materials not available to previous biographers, letters and journals that were sealed until 1990. While it's hard to beat Eve Curie's 1937 biography of her mother (after all, who knew the woman better?), Susan Quinn's scholarly work adds illumination in plenty because of those additional resources.
   
   This biography tries to be all things to all readers, and that may be cited as a flaw although it's also clearly a virtue. Readers who are primarily or entirely interested in Marie Curie, the individual human being, are likely to slog through the lengthy and detailed descriptions of scientific work while yawning. Readers who want to know about Marie Curie, the scientist, are apt to be bored or even annoyed by the passages that concern her relationships with parents, siblings, husband, children, and (once, during her widowhood) lover. For me, though, it all fit together beautifully. Madame Curie was all of those things, after all. Scientist, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend. I'm interested now, just as I was at age 10, in all those aspects of her life.



2. I had mixed emotions on this book and so did many of the numerous reviews I read. While trying to celebrate Marie Curie in light of our feminist times - a motivating factor in the book's writing, I'm sure - the author spends far too little time on the actual physics of Curie's accomplishments and instead dwells on her love affair with a married collegue, on household matters, trivial matters of her everyday life that may make her seem more approachable to the book's readers, but do nothing to clarify her position in historical physics or her winning, jointly, the Nobel Prize, admittedly then in its infancy. I felt Curie to be an extremely passionate woman, both in her work and in her bed. But I wanted much more detail of the physics than was given.



3. This book has excellent historical information about Poland and Marie Curie's family before she was born and after. It gives a very good description of her life growing up and her family, as well as personal experiences gleaned from unpublished letters. It brings information hitherto unpublished about her personal life, and it presents her career in a fascinating way. I cannot rate the book highly enough.



4. Marie Curie A Life by Susan Quinn takes you on a journey as you discover the life of Marie Curie. From her difficult days under the Russian repression in Poland, to the sexism she faced in Paris, her two Nobel Peace Prizes, and the scandal that almost lost her everything. I especially liked this biography because it was to the point and it did not over glorify Marie's life. The fact of the matter is that Marie's life was full of hardships and this book depicts all of them. I think the author wanted to write this story because she wanted to depict the life of Marie Curie who was an inspiration to several women, and who contributed a great deal to the scientific community. I believe that the author however, wanted to portray her in a real light, so while other biographies might be a little bit more glamorous this one is more realistic. This is an extremely fascinating biography and you should read it because it shows how Marie's life was filled with obstacles, and how she overcame them all.



5. Susan Quinn does a wonderful job of describing the hurdles that Curie's family had to overcome during the occupation of Poland by Russia, Austria, and Prussia. The interesting fact is that all of her siblings were bright and well educated despite the denial of public education. Reading this book has been a delightful experience.

1 comments about David Suzuki: The Autobiography.

1. +++++
   
   "Why would anyone else be interested in my life? I know people like to delve into the hidden parts of the lives of people who have acquired some notoriety, hoping to find juicy bits of gossip, signs of weakness or faults that bring the subjects down off pedestals, or simply to expand on what one knows about a public figure. It's not my intension to satisfy that curiosity. Instead, as an "elder," I hope my reflection on one life may stir the reader to consider those thoughts in relation to his or her own life."
   
   The above is found in the last paragraph of the preface of this book by geneticist and environmentalist, the TV host of the acclaimed long-running program "The Nature of Things with David Suzuki," the founder and chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, and the author of more than forty books, David Suzuki (born 1936).
   
   Suzuki explains the contents of his candid and honest book:
   
   "This...is a story I have created by selectively dredging up bits and pieces from the detritus of seventy years of life. The first five chapters skim over the first fifty years...and the rest of the book describes events since then."
   
   More specifically, the first five chapters begin with his childhood life in "racist British Columbia" in Canada, then goes on to his education in the U.S., his early career as a research geneticist, and his "new career" in radio then television. As the book proceeds, we see his transformation into environmental warrior where he recounts stories of his activism in British Columbia and eventually the Amazon, telling us of the plight of the indigenous peoples in this environmentally sensitive region.
   
   In the second half of his book, he tells of his journeys to Australia. Suzuki fell "head over heels" for this country and says that "We [his second wife and him] have never regretted remaining in Canada, but we do feel privileged to be able to return to Australia again and again." He goes on to explain the establishment of the foundation named after him and describes some of its successes to date. Then he proceeds to tell us of his experiences at the Earth summit of 1992 and the world climate change conference held in Kyoto, Japan in 1997.
   
   The last three chapters are especially interesting where Suzuki gives us his ruminations on science and technology, the cult of celebrity and old age respectively.
   
   Throughout the book, two things are apparent: Suzuki cares deeply for his family and his passion for the environment. With regards to the latter, I thought I knew a lot about what's happening to the environment, but I learned much more from reading this book. I think I learned so much because of Suzuki's first-hand observations that he eloquently details and his explanations of what's going on are easy to understand. (My assertion here is actually incredible when you think about it because this book is actually an autobiography and not an environmental science book.)
   
   This autobiography is chatty, intimate, full of interesting stories, and remarkably honest. Suzuki's decency and sincerity shines through practically every sentence of his book.
   
   Finally, the book is peppered with photographs. Even though he sees the "cult of celebrity" as "frightening," you'll see Suzuki in photographs with Canadian and U.S. celebrities such as Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver, Tom Cruise, and Jane Fonda. My favorite photo is the very last one that has him posing naked with only a fig leaf on. The caption reads:
   
   "The notorious fig leaf shot for the show "Phallacies" for [his TV show] "The Nature of Things with David Suzuki."
   
   In conclusion, this is an elegant account of the life of a man who evolved from an academic geneticist into a T.V. and radio personality, first popular in Canada, then the world!!
   
   (first published 2006; preface; 18 chapters; main narrative 400 pages; index; photo credits)
   
   +++++

5 comments about Carl Sagan: A Life.

1. Mr. Davidson has written an excellent biography of astronomer Carl Sagan with this one. I think the book was written with a fine balance of view on the man. Davidson obviously did his homework. The book sufficiently covers Sagan's professional and personal life, without pulling any punches. In this book, I think most will also see the slow metamorphosis of a man primarily interested in science, becoming more and more interested in self-promotion. But don't get the idea is a Carl Sagan-bash. It is nothing of the kind, just admirably frank.



2. By his enemies, detractors, and those envious of him, Carl Sagan has been called a "bozo", a "psuedoscientist", an "idiot", a "moron", and many other names that need not be repeated here. Those who like him though do so unabashedly, and in rare instances have had their scientific careers stymied because of their admitted admiration of him. It is fair to say, and an in-depth statistical study may support this, that the scientific community is automatically dismissive of public figures and the general public, and get angry when anyone within their midst attempts to explain things to people in these two classes. It is almost as though the attempt to explain difficult scientific ideas and concepts to the general public constitutes almost a criminal act, to be punished by banishment from professional societies and academia. The reason for this anger is unknown, and does not seem to serve any useful or constructive purpose either within the scientific community or outside of it.
   
   Although the author is not a practicing scientist, from the words in this book it is apparent that he identifies with the general scientific community in their attitude about the popularization of science. The author comes across as being deeply cynical, and this is readily apparent throughout the book. It seems he has a score to settle with Sagan and he endeavors throughout the book to take Sagan down a notch and expose his faults and inadequacies. The book for this reason is difficult to read, for it confuses objectivity with blatant negativism. What is needed in the case of Carl Sagan is a biographer who will not engage in uncritical adulation and yet at the same time not become indulged in muckracking.
   
   Indeed, the author makes it a point to bring out Sagan's alleged use of marijuana, his reluctance to assist his wives in housework, and his shortcomings as a father to his children. He discusses the zeal with which several scientists denied Sagan admission to the National Academy of Sciences, and Sagan's supposed inability to discuss scientific topics in depth. The author therefore patronizes the reader, with the implicit assumption that the reader has been unduly influenced by Sagan and needs assistance and release from this influence. The emotional responses that many have obtained by viewing Cosmos or reading some of Sagan's works is dismissed as being a result of Sagan's skilled oratory. It seems to never occur to the author that such responses are a natural consequence to being exposed to ideas that are accurate and true.
   
   It is a little over ten years since Sagan has passed on, but his legacy is alive and well, and even though he has made many contributions to both science and its popularization, his most profound contribution, and one that outweighs the rest by many orders of magnitude, is his implicit demonstration that the history of the human species has been one of brilliant developments rather than war and strife. For a human being to purposely take the life of another is actually extremely rare, but it is frequently taught, both in educational institutions and outside of them, that the human species is a destructive and dangerous one. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the writings of Sagan illustrate this time and again. It would be incorrect therefore, and statistically invalid, to say that his view of history is romanticized and idealistic. It is the most realistic of any that currently exist, and deserves to be propagated at a large scale. There has yet to arise an effective surrogate to Carl Sagan, at least from the standpoint of someone who delivers the message in books, movies, and television as effectively as he did. But there are millions, or shall we say, billions and billions, of individuals that make up the collective genius of the human species, and it is these individuals, some known and some unknown, that are so eloquently described and championed by Sagan throughout his writings and personal life.



3. I grew up with Carl Sagan. An avid watcher of his COSMOS program when it aired in 1980, I like to credit Carl with turning me on to the wonders of science and, especially, the wonders of space exploration. Prior to seeing COSMOS I thought outer space was just a playground for X-Wing fighters, Colonial warriors, and the Starship Enterprise. Carl made space into a very real place, more fascinating than my young mind had ever thought possible, and COSMOS similarly impressed upon me the value of science as, to borrow the sub-title from one of Carl's best-known volumes, a candle in the darkness.
   
   Many years later, shortly after I got married, my wife found the entire COSMOS series on VHS tape at a local library. I eagerly re-screened the entire series with adult eyes, and was reminded again of how fantastic the series was, what a great science promoter Carl could be, and I suppose the old child-like hero worship resurfaced with new energy. Carl then died tragically not longer after I re-screened COSMOS, and in a moment of telegraphed fan grief, I set up a web memorial to the man which I called the Carl Sagan Electronic Monument.
   
   On that web site I extolled the virtues of the Great Popularizer. I praised his wisdom, his brilliance, his prowess as both husband and father, and generally set the man up on a pedestal of enormous height. For a few years I communicated with other Sagan fans, and even received one or two touching e-mails from Ann Druyan, thanking me for the CSEM and thanking me for being part of the enormous outpouring of support and love which centered around Carl following his passing.
   
   Knowing my affinity for Sagan, my wife bought me "Demon Haunted World" and an audiobook, read by Sagan, of "Pale Blue Dot". I loved these as I loved COSMOS, and it seemed nothing could stem the hero worship.
   
   Then, my wife bought me "Carl Sagan: A life", and the carefully constructed illusion slowly came apart.
   
   I'd always known that certain people had a gripe against Sagan. I'd always chalked it up to petty jealousy against a truly great man. But as I turned the pages of this book, and the REALITY of Carl Edward Sagan began to hit home, I realized that in my rush to embrace Sagan as an idol, I'd completely fooled myself.
   
   Meticulously researched, this book is an eye-opener for any Sagan fan. I've seen a lot of the one star comments, declaring that this is a book for "Sagan haters", which I think is unfair. If anything, this book exposes Sagan for who he really was, not who we wished him to be. I think all Sagan fans owe it to themselves to read this book, and then decide, as I did, which they loved more: Sagan as a PERSON, or Sagan as a vehicle for opening the wonders of space and science to the average man?
   
   My conclusion, upon finishing this volume, is that I was not a fan of Sagan the man. Sagan seemed a poor husband, at least until the advent of Ann Druyan, and even then it seems clear he was already involved with Druyan prior to the dissolution of his relationship with his second wife. Moreover, Sagan was not a particularly good father to his first children, again only cleaning up his act for the Druyan years.
   
   I have always believed that no amount of professional success can make up for failure in the home. I am glad that Sagan seems to have reformed by the time Druyan came on the scene, and that his youngest children seem to have enjoyed at least a competent dad. But what of the first two marriages, and the children that came of them? What of the abuse that he apparently doled out to his first wife? These things significantly mar the brilliant image of Sagan, and left me feeling as if I'd seriously deluded myself.
   
   Moreover, Sagan the professional was also not without faults. For much of his life Carl seems to have been an enormously vainglorious and pompous fellow, essentially ruining his relationship with COSMOS producer Adrian Malone, so much so that the men were not on speaking terms by the time COSMOS earned its Emmy and Peabody Awards. Carl also developed a reputation as a scientific dilettente, precocious and opinionated and eager to claim mastery over various scientific subjects without actually contributing much bona fide advancement in those same fields. Many scientists came to resent Sagan as being too much of a self-promoter and not enough of a researcher, and as Sagan's public popularity began to soar, so did the grumbling by some in the scientific community who felt that Sagan was getting credit for their effort.
   
   When I came back to my Sagan memorial web site, after reading this book, I realized I couldn't keep the web site up in good faith anymore. I slowly pruned the site down until it was just a placeholder, and then I shut it down altogether not longer after that.
   
   Having said all this, I must emphasize that "Carl Sagan: A Life" is not a one-sided bash-session. There is much good said about Sagan, especially in regard to his role as popularizer, and in regard to his struggle with health problems, including a throat condition I had not previously known about, and his long decay due to myelodysplasia. His work in debunking UFOlogy and stressing skepticism (alongside other skeptics like James Randi) is to his credit, as are his forays into environmentalism and combating the threat of nuclear holocaust. The Planetary Society continues as one of the most energetic public bodies lobbying for continued space exploration, and there is no doubt that Sagan's legacy as a spark which has fired the efforts and imaginations of millions around the world, is secure.
   
   I still own a DVD set of COSMOS and enjoy watching the series from time to time. As a character on the screen, Sagan is engaging, witty, brilliant, and engrossing, and COSMOS still stands, in my mind, as one of the greatest television science series of all time. I still keep the copy of "Demon Haunted World" and have the "Pale Blue Dot" tapes, because there is great thought and wisdom in these volumes, and they are to Sagan's eternal credit.
   
   But Sagan the person has been permanently removed from his pedestal. In hindsight, I should have never placed him up there to begin with.
   
   In COSMOS, Sagan lauds German astronomer Johannes Kepler for having the courage to face the reality of celestial planetary motion, rather than cling to his beloved illusion of the nested geometric solids. In the same spirit I would encourage all Sagan fans to cast aside any illusions they may have regarding Carl Sagan the man, and read this book, and know the faults and flaws and shortcomings of the man we all learned to admire and idolize as children.
   
   You will be surprised. You will be dissapointed. But you will know the truth.
   
   Five stars for this book. Absolutely. Thanks to Keay Davidson for having the literary courage to delve into Sagan's life, and not just offer up a superficial pean.



4. This biography differs from many of the other sycophantic works about celebrity lives in that it treats its subject as its subject treated the world: objectively. Those who have ears to hear, they will hear and agree.
   
   Sagan was larger than life. A brilliant man with a passion for his subject he was none-the-less subject to human feelings and human failings. This book portrays the human side of Carl Sagan from his sudden, relationship damaging mood swings, to his desire to achieve the greatest good. It takes the myth of Carl Sagan and exposes the very real man underneath it all.
   
   Sagan the scientist allowed his passions to distort his views at times but what great scientist hasn't had moments of irrational behavior? Sagan the humanitarian often demanded that things be done to relieve human suffering and end nuclear proliferation. He could be stubborn to the point of being annoying when it came to exposing frauds in science and the inhuman monsters (Edward Teller) whom he resented.
   
   The book portrays a very human Sagan. A product of his era, he smoked pot, desired peace, devoted himself to his scientific calling, and became a legend. If you can stand to have the curtain drawn and the wizard exposed, this is the book for you. If you like fantasy over reality, move on.



5. This "biography" is one, long malicious attack upon Carl Sagan.
   
   Keay Davidson obviously detests Sagan - so much so that I don't know why he would wrire a book about someone he hates so much.
   
   Only someone who hates Sagan could enjoy this book - but anyone who hates Sagan wouldn't be buying/reading a biography about him anyway.
   
   This book has no real audience. I would rate it ZERO stars if I were able.
   
   If you like anything Carl did, please look elsewhere for a biography and do not waste a penny or a second on this unfathomably putrid piece of attack-journalism.

4 comments about Tom Slick: True Life Encounters in Cryptozoology.

1. Very good book, there is a lot of information and facts in this book,if you are intersted in detail, this book has a lot to offer in the science world.



2. I just expected a little more than this. I've read some of Coleman's other books and this one just isn't up to snuff. It's certainly readable and should be added to someone's library if they are interested in yeti, bigfoot, or cryptozoology in general. The book is titled for Tom Slick but Bernard Heuvelman gets ample coverage in this also. I wish there was more on Slick's activities regarding the sasquatch. The coverage of the yeti expeditions was the same basic coverage you can get in nearly any book on the subject. I know Coleman is a capable writer and researcher, and I was expecting better than this.

   I've read and enjoyed other biographies much more than this. I also mention the numerous minor typos throughout the book, simple little things that should have been checked and caught in the editing process (there are quite a number of times there is a 'hut' or 'he' when it was supposed to be 'but' and 'be') but those are disregardable (by no means is my grammer or spelling perfect). There were also several occassions while reading this biography of Tom Slick in which I forgot the book was about Slick because of sideline stories or wandering off topic that didn't seem directly (or indirectly) involving Slick.

   Mr. Coleman, best wishes but you are better than this.




3. The book starts off with the background to Tom Slick's family, which in itself was entertaining ,and then on to Tom's expeditions. The book, although a true story, reads like an adventure novel. I'm only sad Tom Slick is no longer with us as I think he is a great loss to the scientific community ,with his zest for investigating the usual. The ending of the book and the stories of involvement with the CIA gave great food for thought and I won't spoil anyone's enjoyment of the book by going into more detail.I would recommend this book to anyone, whether a cryptozoologist or not, as it entertains as well as informs. I emailed the author to say how much I enjoyed the book and was delighted to receive a reply.This is a book that deserves to be read.



4. Recommended as one of the outstanding cryptozoology books of the year by The Anomalist Book Awards & Book List 2002.