1 comments about Einstein in His Own Words.

1. Einstein wrote well on a surprisingly varied number of subjects. The heart of his writing will of course always be in his scientific work. And the true expression of that in mathematical language which most of us laymen cannot possibly comprehend. But he wrote well about scientific subjects in ordinary, understandable language. He also wrote with wit and wisdom about political subjects, about matters of morality. He once said' Common sense is that layer of prejudice deposited in the mind before eighteen years'. Yet Einstein himself had no small amount of common sense as well as the extraordinary uncommon sense( Which led him to ask questions no one before had thought to frame in the way he did.) This selection of his writing is small and yet tastefully done. What also adds to the impressiveness of the volume is the outstandingly clear and striking illustrations and pictures which fill up a good share of the pages.
   If one wants a simple good short summary book on Einstein, this could be it.

5 comments about Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard--America's First Spaceman.

1. Not much about Al Shepard that isn't already in other books
   and movies. And just plain wrong on obvious things like
   Grissom's pickup --which is on tape. How do you screw
   something like that up? Short on technical details
   and a lot of rehash on the Glen rivalry.
   
   The constant repetitive mentioning of Al's sexual business is a bit weird.
   Especially since only two real instances are mentioned in the book,
   and neither of them involved sex. The supposed suppressed T.J. scandal
   (John Glenn saves the day) is total horsecrap too, never happened.



2. Surprise of surprises. Amid the clutter of hastily-written self-serving memoirs from the early days of the space program, finally there appears something akin to solid history and literary proficiency. Neal Thompson was a Baltimore reporter when Alan Shepard died in 1998 of leukemia. Assigned to write an obituary, Thompson discovered that no first rate biography of the United State's first spaceman was then in print. Sensing an opportunity, Thompson, a free lance writer, began a six-year research project and produced a highly respectable treatment of a very private man. What had been known about Shepard were primarily his great successes and his notable shortcomings. Johnson tackles the great middle--and the puzzle that was Alan Shepard now begins to make sense.
   
   In truth, there is probably misunderstanding about all of the early astronaut heroes, as if each was assigned a role in a bigger cosmic drama. Scotty Carpenter will always be the house philosopher, Gordo Cooper the hotdog, Gus Grissom the curmudgeon. Shepard's role was to be first, the best, the winner of a grueling marathon to ride the Redstone rocket--tiny by today's standards--for fifteen minutes on May 5, 1961. Given the unpredictability of the rockets of that era, the greater risk to the astronaut was on the ground than in space. This fact was appreciated in 1961, and being chosen number one was a statement from his superiors about his fortitude as much as his mastery of flying and technology.
   
   Alan Shepard was born in 1923 in Derry, NH, to a somewhat removed, demanding father. Young Shepard inherited a fierce competitiveness and an independence that allowed him to pursue personal goals with little concern about his impression on others. This latter quality, to his advantage, is what set him apart from his archrival John Glenn, who did worry about public relations. Shepard was one of those rare men who had his cake and ate it, too: he achieved remarkable career goals while entertaining himself along the way with what can only be called oppositional defiance. In a strange twist of history, he actually pulled off the mischief that has always been attached to others like Gordon Cooper.
   
   In this regard Thompson studies Shepard's military misbehavior and his philandering. The author's account of the future astronaut's brushes with military authority is detailed and rather surprising. One comes away with a sense that the New Hampshire flyboy's skills as a naval test pilot must have been noteworthy, outweighing numerous dangerous incidents of "flat-hatting" or strafing civilians on the ground. His cheating on his virtuous and devoted wife Louise--a spouse of the Lady Bird Johnson mold--is a blotch that time will probably not erase. Thompson does observe that Shepard's amorous sorties off the reservation were adolescent in nature; the astronaut apparently never engaged in any sort of long term relationship in which Louise was displaced.
   
   Although there is in this work a lot about Shepard to dislike, the author clearly strove for a balanced presentation. Shepard appears to have made his peace with Glenn at the time of the Freedom Seven flight. After retirement he demonstrated a better than average interest in philanthropy and seems to have worked harder in his later years to enrich his marriage with Louise. Perhaps best known is his decade long battle with Meniere's Disease, and later with a form of leukemia. In some ways the Meniere's was more of a psychological jolt, coming as it did at the beginning of the Gemini, and ultimately, the Apollo Programs. Whatever his colleagues felt about him, Shepard was widely respected in the NASA management circle for outstanding cape com work in the troubled Carpenter and Cooper flights. With Glenn, his chief rival, out of the picture due to a head injury and political considerations, Shepard was the logical choice to command the maiden voyages of these new craft--and by implication become the first man to walk on the moon.
   
   But this was not to be. For nearly a decade Shepard lost his license to fly any type of aircraft due to balance impairment [and other less known medical problems brought to light by the author.] Did he take this forced grounding graciously? Admittedly not. But the author assesses this period of Shepard's career with more depth than other commentators. He notes, for example, that Shepard had burned his bridges with the Navy by joining NASA and could not return to what seemed to be a straight road to admiralty status. While the Navy was no longer an option, Shepard was proving himself to be a better than average business man and becoming independently wealthy. Freed of aviator-astronaut responsibilities, he could have lived a highly lucrative lifestyle.
   
   But he stayed with NASA, a nasty Don Quixote. Only a man in similar straits like Deke Slayton, himself medically grounded from space travel, could have understood and tolerated his subaltern's angry depression which alienated other astronauts in the program and at times rendered him a public relations nightmare. What sustained him through his bureaucratic Siberia was the desire to return to active status, but perhaps more strongly a desire to conquer his own medical problem. Shepard would admit that his selection for the first Mercury flight was the professional highlight of his career. Reinstatement to flight status for Apollo was for him a personal triumph of a different sort,
   
   Shepard was due for some luck. Experimental surgery put him on line for Apollo 13, but management bumped him to 14 to absorb training and thus he avoided the near catastrophic events of unlucky 13. Shepard seemed grateful to be back--choosing for his Apollo 14 crew Stu Roosa, who had defined the art of avoiding Shepard in company hallways. Apollo 14 survived at least three mission-threatening crises on its way to the world's most famous tee shot. What the author shares about the moon landing mission is one of its least known achievements: it brought its commander to tears.



3. I am a "space nut". I have read numerous books, seen numerous vhs and dvd stories of everything from the start of the space age to the shuttle flights. I have never had a more inspiring feeling than upon finishing "Light this candle". It started a little slow with all the early life details of Shepard but, helped later in the book with how & why he reacted to many (and I mean many) tough situations that he faced in his unbelievable life. Being a space nut, I was happy to see little details explained in the book that are lacking in other books I have read. Such things as Shepard talking about laying in the LEM following an EVA on Apollo 14. He and Mitchell were supposed to be sleeping but Shepard talked about the "eerie silence" and hearing the A/C unit click on and off. Also, feeling like they were going to tilt over and falling out of the bunk when he thought the LEM was sliding down the edge of the crater. All of these things made it a "tough to put down" book that I would HIGHLY recommend.
   I used to think of Al Shepard as an egotistical, bi-polar, spoiled fly-boy that I wanted no part in learning more about. I would have rather stuck to anyone of the other 6 Mercury astronauts. BOY WAS I WRONG! This book might have turned me to thinking that Al Shepard is the most interesting of the original 7.



4. I had been meaning to read this long-overdue biography of Alan Shepard, and I happened to pick it up in a cruise ship library. As I read it I was surprised at the number of factual inaccuracies--there is at least one glaring non-technical error per chapter, which calls into question almost everything else between the covers. Numerous reviews here mention more problems with technical aspects of the book that I was unaware of, but which do not surprise me given the apparent lack of proofreading and fact-checking.
   
   An example: upon finding the book, I leafed through it and found the section on Apollo 14. There it mentioned that John Glenn had "almost killed himself when he lost control of the pace car at the Daytona 500 and slammed into a flatbed trailer crowded with journalists." This sentence boggled my mind, for it contained two errors: the pace car was at the Indianapolis 500, and John Glenn was a passenger while a local Dodge dealership owner was the driver. The book is just full of examples of this kind of sloppy reporting.
   
   Edit: I see that at least the paperback edition correctly says Indianapolis 500, but it still incorrectly implies that Glenn was driving the pace car.



5. I missed an opportunity to go to a book-signing where Alan Shepard was signing copies of "Moon Shot". I figured I would have another chance but then before long he was gone. What a thrill it would have been to have shook the hand of the first American in space.
   
   Nostalgia aside, this book is a capsule of the life of the man. True, it is littered with inaccuracies in spots, and seems to delve far too deeply at moments on the personal life of one of the most important men in the last 50 years. But then again, how many JFK biographers have tried to delve into the hush-hush side of the man?
   
   This book will give you a clear picture of the over-achieving, success-driven, consumate test pilot who one day became an important symbol to many Americans, who were afraid their world was about to be consumed by communism. At times wistful, sometimes aggrandizing, other times pointedly candid, this biography attempt to reveal the Alan Shepard even the man himself wanted no one to see.
   
   You will be amazed at the story.

No comments about Albert Meets America: How Journalists Treated Genius during Einstein's 1921 Travels.

5 comments about The Queen's Conjurer: The Science and Magic of Dr. John Dee, Adviser to Queen Elizabeth I.

1. For 25 years I have read & collected everything on John Dee I could find, even to the point of ordering the Sloan MSS fron the British museum. My only complaint about this effort is that it wasn't longer. It reads like a novel. This is the daily life of one of the most fascinating people in British history. Occultists will get clarity on the nature of the Angelic workings, Alchemists get a glimpse of the nature of the craft, students of history are drawn into the gritty reality of fifteenth century Europe. This book carried me through from beginning to end in only two sittings. I couldn't put it down. Well done Woolley!



2. I have always found Dr. John Dee to be one of the most intriguing characters of Elizabethan times. Yet, there seemed to be so little information available about him, only bits and pieces and rumors- often spread by his enemies. Here is a most satisfying biography that not only gives you a complete look at the Doctor's life, but is also supplemented with a wealth of associated detail and historical background. This book turns Dee from a shadowy character to a real man, a great man.

   What comes across is the amazing breadth and depth of Dee's interests and scholarship. He was already famed for his remarkable intellect and ability as a student at Cambridge. At a time when most scholars barely processed a reading knowledge of bad Latin, he mastered classical Greek to be able to read the forgotten works of Plato and Pythagoras. He was a personal friend and correspondent to the great men of the age such as Tycho Brahe and Mercator. Dee himself was famed as a great mathematician in Europe (at a time when simple trigonometry was almost unknown in England.) He was offered high positions at the great courts of Europe, but turned these offers down out of a deep seated desire to raise up his country of birth to be their eventual global equal (at this time England was a poor, backward, weak backwater.) Indeed, the first conception of a British Empire, founded upon a strong Royal Navy, was first expounded by Dee.

   John Dee was as close to modern scientist as existed in the 16th century. He independently came to the conclusion that bodies of unequal weight fall at the same rate- before Galileo. He was recognized as England's top expert on optics and lenses. He was recognized as one of the top experts on navigation and chart making of his day. He kept detailed astronomical observations that even Tycho Brahe admired. He based his astrological work upon the heliocentric "heresy" of Copernicus. He was an expert in geology and ores and leased his own tin mine. He also collected the biggest research library of the age in Mortlake, which was a gathering place of the greatest minds of England and the continent. In short- Dee was a competent expert in several areas of natural philosophy and applied technology. He believed in detailed observation and record keeping- in both natural, and supernatural, phenomena.

   The thing is, Dee believed his accomplishments in the more material and practical sciences to be among his lesser accomplishments. Like Newton after him, his real passion was with the deepest cosmic and spiritual secrets. This led to his fame as an astrologer, and an alchemist, and a cabalist. Dee's passion was to discover the ancient, true, original religion of mankind, the "prisci theology." That is why he could walk easily among both Protestants and Catholics- he ultimately considered both of their dogma's to be equally absurd. Dee had a much more open mind that the "scientists" of later centuries- he studied all unknown forces, natural or supernatural. This was why be studied and practiced natural magic (Agrippa's three books were always open upon his desk for quick reference.) He knew that hidden currents influenced the day-to-day world, and he documented his observations even if he couldn't explain them in terms of material cause and effect. This also led to his interest is scrying and the use of natural sensitives to communicate with spirits. It should be noted, that no one at this time doubted the existence of such spirits- it was as self evident as the existence of God. In fact, many powerful lords of the day employed seers and scryers, including the earls of Leicester, Pembroke, and Northumberland.

   All in all, you come away with a renewed respect for Dee. You realize that his only fault was to be born in a society of petty, ignorant, lesser men. It was they that libeled and slandered his image and painted him as a superstitious conjuror. Indeed, the only real mistake that the good Doctor made was to outlive his beloved queen and protector.




3. Dr. John Dee is now considered to be the English Renaissance man. This was not always the case, however, because his first biographers, as the author of this fine biography points out, were either `hard-headed rationalist or muddle-headed mystics.' In present time, researchers and historians agree that Dee was a true Renaissance man because he sought to connect or reconcile rationalism with magic, science and the supernatural. This was not unusual for the time. Copernicus cited the mystic Hermes Trismegistus in his Magnum Opus, proposing the heliocentric universe. Isaac Newton began his career as an alchemist, before moving on to modern methods of pure science. John Dee was the most important scientists of the Elizabethan age. But this is only a somewhat recent recognition because throughout the ages he was considered a charlatan, crook, blockhead and "companion of hellhounds". Benjamin Woolley's fine biography combines history, science, espionage and common sense and attempts to answer how a man of genius that had such a major influence in mathematics, astronomy, cartography, navigation and science in general, could die a pauper and in obscurity.

   In 1659, a scholar by the name of Meric Casaubon copied and published a collection of Dee's documents, which contained the recordings of spiritual conversations with angels and archangels, and other dialogues, which could be interpreted dubious at best. After the publication Dee's reputation as a credible philosopher went steadily down hill and has taken centuries to recover. Woolley has done some fine research, using Dee's actual diaries, and has painstakingly pieced together his life and career.

   The Elizabethan age was a turning point in Western history. The Reformation was essentially a battle for power and knowledge and a bloody war in the name of religion. But it also set the stage for the Enlightenment, and Dr. John Dee was a precursor to the Age of Reason. He was a man of `science', collecting and studying every ancient text he could get his hands on, (his library is the stuff of legend) but rational knowledge, he truly believed, would only take him so far - he desired heavenly knowledge and wisdom. And it is possible that his spiritual researches into the divine nature could have been the cause of his downfall. Dee did not seek worldly gain, riches and material pleasure; his only desire was to attain the secrets of the Holy. Did he pay the ultimate price for this activity?

   ~The Queen's Conjurer~ is not a dense historical text, but an informative and enlightening piece of research. It casts some light on an intriguing figure, removing him from modern occult history and in to the mainstream.




4. Benjamin Woolley's 'The Queen's Conjurer' is the most recent attempt to present the life of the English Enigma, Dr. John Dee. Dee is an interesting character and one that has sadly been much maligned over the centuries. Since his death in 1608, he has largely been dismissed at best as an sorcerer and black magicican and, at worst, as a credulous old fool dabbling in astrology and necromancy. Today, despite his prominent historical role in Elizabethan politics and his great contibutions to many fields, he is hardly remembered at all. This book tries to alleviate that problem.

   Wolley's work is well-researched and attempts to shed light on Dee's life and his many accomplishments as not only an occultist, but also as an astronomer, mathematician, explorer, and spy. Dee was a product of the Renaissance and devoured knowledge and information. He was an avid bibliophile, a voracious author of various works on astronomy, astrology, mathematics, occult philosophy, and was well-respected by many prominent people at the court of Queen Elizabeth. The Queen herself counted herself one of Dee's benefactors and visited him numerous times at his home at Mortlake, taking a genuine interest in his many magical and mathematical works. Today he is largely remembered for his works concerning "Enochian" or Angel Magic, due to the fact that these are the bulk of his writings that have survived the flames of history. Most of the second half of this book is concerned with Dee's European adventures with the mysterious scryer Edward Kelly, who is largely regarded by history as a charlatan and a rake. Kelly is a shadowy and intriguing figure and we get some insight into his character and motivations but he is never truly revealed to us, perhaps he never will be. In the end, Dee finds that despite a lifetime of great works and accomplishments, he is viewed with mistrust and suspicion by the general public and has lost favor with the new court of King James I. He dies a tired and broken man, and history would continue to tarnish his great name until well into the 20th century.

   The Queen's Conjurer is a very readable account of a great and fascinating man.




5. Woolley's book is good-hearted, an attempt to help modern readers see John Dee not at the fringes but at the heart of much that was going on Elizabethan England.

   But the book's execution leaves *much* to be desired. As other Amazon.com reviews have noted, the thread of the story gets lost along the way (especially amidst some of the sordid details concerning Dee's relationship with Edward Kelly). There are a number of interesting facts and anecdotes, but they never quite come together as a coherent whole. And Woolley displays such an appalling ignorance of Catholicism when he attempts to describe the religious background of the period (and in some instances, ignorance of Christianity in general) that I tend to wonder whether he's gotten his facts about Dee's life wrong too.

   While I'll give the book 3 stars for good intentions, in general, you're better off finding a copy of Peter French's _John Dee: The World of an Elizabethan Magus_.

5 comments about Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos.

1. I knew Carl Sagan from Pale Blue Dot, Billions and Billions, and especially his wonderful Cosmos (truly, if there is one book everybody should read, Cosmos is it). The man that transpires from these books appeared to me as an wonderful example of what human beings should strive for, and I naturally picked up Poundstone's biography out of curiosity.
   
   Poundstone covers Sagan's life adequately. He does not limit himself to that however, dedicating ample space to explaining the scientific context behind much of Sagan's work. He defends Sagan's positions well, but also presents the positions of some of Sagan's adversaries with apparent honesty.
   
   The low point of this reading is the revelation that Sagan's personal life was not always exemplary. Living with a man as busy and allegedly full of ego as Sagan was a challenge. He married three times, finally finding the ideal partner in his relationship with Ann Druyan, who in particular appears to have made him a better family man.
   
   Sagan's life is fascinating and shows admirable continuity. From his involvement with the question of whether there is life on Mars to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), he has remained largely devoted to the question of extraterrestrial life, a new field initially called exobiology.
   
   Sagan's influence in the scientific world has been huge, if not as a traditional scientist, then as a man who seeded ideas. But his role as a popularizer of science has probably been even more important. In particular, his hit TV show from the 80s, Cosmos, has made his name famous to the point probably of being at some point the second-best known scientist in the 20th century (after Einstein, of course), at least in the US. Many have become scientists later in life after watching the show as kids.
   
   Sagan knew how to teach, as his Cornell students can testify. He was able to inspire awe from the contemplation of the physical world. His always perfect (if a little snobbish-sounding) elocution, and his sometimes poetic stances, touch the mind and the heart.
   
   Poundstone's biography confirms that Sagan was an extremely smart man, and a constant defender of reason. He never tired and always loved what he was doing. Through his books and teaching, he has sent the message that humans should not let their brains at the door. What Voltaire and Swift did with satire, Sagan did with science.
   
   Sagan's untimely end in 1996 at age 62 is tragic, first on a personal level because he was in the end fully aware that his illness could take him, and second for the world at large, as he could have easily provided his insight and wisdom for another twenty years.



2. Mark Twain once said, "Anybody can have ideas--the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph." The quote couldn't be more apt than when examining this work. I initially started to read this book being interested in Carl Sagan the person and what he had to say. I came away feeling it was a tedious chore.
   
   First off, the book is divided into short subsections that make for easy stopping points. The initial happenings start like most biographies do by tracing Sagan's roots starting from his Grandparents on down. It details his early childhood and precocious nature which was evident from the start. The story quickly moves on to his early commitment to be an astronomer even though this wasn't regarded highly at the time. Throughout the book Carl's marriages are also discussed in some detail. My major complaint with the book starts with all of the dreadful descriptions of every single scientific project Sagan worked on. Even after the reader gets the gist the writer continues to drone on and on about what I felt were insignificant details to the extent they were described. For example, Sagan was a big proponent of a nuclear winter theory. The idea being that nuclear war would adversely affect the climate by cooling it and possibly leading to the complete demise of life as we know it. Well, Poundstone elaborates on this for close to 100 pages. At one point I had to flip to the cover of the book to make sure I hadn't picked up a book about nuclear holocaust or annihilation. Poundstone also goes into monotonous detail over every one of the Viking, Voyager, Pioneer, and Seti projects that Sagan worked on. My question would be-is this all there was to Carl Sagan? Was his work more important than who he was as a person?
   
   The writer's language also does not flow very well. He is far from eloquent. He seems bright enough but everything seems forced and tentative like he is trying to think of what to say and how to say it. Sometimes this leads to non sequitur types of passages. As I was reading I kept feeling like I was missing some punch line. Eventually, I realized I wasn't missing anything but it was simply the writer's inability to communicate.
   
   One good thing I felt the writer did do was display Sagan's faults and shortcomings. We are led to see that he was often egotistical, dismissing of former close friends, and not always a very good father. His friend's opinions of him are also revealed in somewhat explicit detail. For these reasons I feel the book isn't a complete waste but overall I was left with a feeling of distaste for it.



3. I've been a fan of Carl Sagan's popularization of science since the "Cosmos" days. I agree he wasn't the most brilliant scientist around, but he did more to make people interested in astronomy than any scientist of his generation and beyond.
   
   This biography goes way too far into the scientific realm, but doesn't tell me much about Sagan as a man. As a student of astrophysics (a hobby, not a career for me), I found the science interesting, but it wasn't why I bought this book.



4. You can add me to the list of people who was about 7 or so when I first saw Cosmos, and it was a major influence (along with 2 scientist parents of my own) to go into science (not astronomy). Carl Sagan, and the way he made science poetic, influenced me greatly.

   I feel that an absolute must in a biography, is fairness. I neither want to read idolatry, nor a muckracking book. This book was fair in its depiction of Sagan: a brilliant scientist, who cared about the world, science, writing, and his own ego. I especially liked the sections on his work with NASA on the various Mars missions; where do we land, what experiments do we perform, and just what do the results mean, anyway?

   There was enough information about his background and personal life to keep it interesting, but not so much that it bored me. I was unaware of his first marriage to Lynn Margulis; a famous scientist in her own right.

   This biography moved very quickly; I always wanted to pick it back up again. Lastly, you do not need any type of science background to understand this book. It is a biography, not a science text at all.




5. I was more influenced by his books then TV appearances on Cosmos, which was a great show. The book really made me smile and reminded me of what was great about the scientist and the man. As we all are, he was mortal and flawed and this book did not try to hide either. It's possible Sagan's final note to us all was his article at the end of the now defunct George magazine. In it, he looked foreward and encouraged us all to take better care of our planet and fellow inhabitants.

5 comments about Life in the Treetops: Adventures of a Woman in Field Biology (Nota Bene Series).

1. This unique book is about Margaret Lowman's life as a self-described field biologist who studies the mysteries of forest canopies, one of the last biotic frontiers on Earth. In Life in the Treetops, Lowman is a pioneer canopy scientist she describes the little known worlds of the treetops, their inhabitants, flowers and fruits, growth and mortality, patterns of diversity, and plant and animal interactions. Lowman writes about how, in order with the scientific hypothesis she was focusing on, a different canopy access technique was used. She's particularly good at exposing the life of a field biologist from a woman's perspective, what it was like to cope: with the demands of a challenging career; with marriage to an Australian sheep farmer; with housewifery; with motherhood to two young sons; with conflicting cultural differences about gender roles; and with divorce and single parenthood. Lowman's descriptions of her various arboreal ecological projects were fascinating. She emphasized the pleasures and intellectual rewards of studying the natural world without ignoring the projected vicissitudes of researching in wilderness settings. In the end Lowman is the director of research and conservation at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida. This is an inspiring story for everyone, not just for women or those interested in careers in science, but for everyone.



2. As a young woman who hopes with all her heart and works with all of her passion to be a scientist one day, I recommend this novel without a doubt. Dr. Lowman attacks every issue she faces head on, candidly describing her emotion and scientific endeavors as if the reader is a personal friend. As a female, I myself can relate to her described frustration of being a woman in a primarily male field. Even my closest male friends look at me with doubt and treat my five year love affair (ongoing, of course) with science as a joke simply because I am female (as the butt of their jokes imply). It's wondorous to read of other accounts involving similar emotion. On a scientific note, Dr. Lowman makes no adjustments for fear of the reader who does not care for biology; she writes about science just as she writes about emotion. For that, I urge parents to prod their children to read this memoir, adults to read, and all others to digest.



3. Margaret Lowman writes candidly about her life... as though we were the closest of friends. I expected her to write about her research, the difficulties of climbing into the rainforest canopies, and her globe trotting. And she did. She also writes of the professional challenges, cultural clashes, and personal problems she encounters as a woman in field biology, and that makes this book something quite special.

   ON THE PERSONAL SIDE: Lowman married an Australian, had two children and lived in the outback, while conducting research on the Australian rain forests. On the personal side, she was expected to be a housewife, and mother. Her new Australian husband, and in-laws, did not understand her inner drive to spend time in her work. While clearly her new family did not support her in her work, Lowman persisted and achieved. She also made a decision to accept a teaching position at Williams College back in the US. She packed up the boys, and headed for home. She exchanged her marriage, and the boy's father, for a surprisingly supportive scientific community and her own supportive parents. Lowman tells of her personal life with candor, but without bitterness. While no one could accuse her of having an ordinary life, Lowman's book is also an every woman's story in that she chronicles the kind of day-to-day struggle of professional/career women faced (particularly in the 1970's and 1980's) in balancing career and family.

   ON THE PROFESSIONAL SIDE: To help understand the interdependence of the rainforests Lowman mostly studies the small things... leaves, and the insects that eat them. It sounds easier than it is. Most of the leaves to be studied are high up in the canopy of the rain forests. Early in her career, she gains access using ropes and harnesses, and even a cherry picker when she was pregnant; later she has the luxury of using a construction crane, a dirigible, and even a walkway. Lowman loves the forests, and her work. (Her book contains an illustration of her favorite tree, ficus watkinsiana.)

   Lowman ends the book telling us that it takes about the "same amount of energy to complain as it does to explain-but the results are incredibly different." Her book explains a great deal. I highly recommend it.




4. Margaret Lowman is a gifted biologist with a knack for finding ways to teach others the importance of her field and the need for conservation. Her adventures range from the humorous to the frightening and are guaranteed to hold the reader's interest. I held off a five-star rating only because I would have liked a little more information on some of the animals she's studied. Her impressions of Nature's little-known and often-overlooked creatures are valuable and fascinating, and I wish more space had been devoted to them. That's a minor quibble, though. As a writer on nature myself, I came away from reading this book with an improved understanding of how complex the "web of life" is, not to mention a determination to get my own children out into the forests more often.



5. Margaret Lowman's story, Life in the Treetops, is an inspiration for young women considering a life in science. She tells how she balanced a career as a field biologist, studying the forest canopy, with being a wife and mother, and eventually a single parent. Her stories of her experiences as a researcher and tree climber in such exotic locals as the Australian outback, Cameroon, Belize and Panama are intermingled with her observations about the inhabitants of these locals, the people she worked with and her sons. Her perseverance in a field dominated by men has given her an interesting perspective about science and life in general.

2 comments about John von Neumann: Selected Letters (History of Mathematics).

1. John von Neumann was a brilliant man, making significant contributions to quantum physics and higher mathematics. However, as this book says, "Von Neumann is best known in the general public for his work in computer design. His activity in this field is very well documented in the work of W. Aspray. Aspray's book contains quotations from many of von Neumann's letters concerning computer science; thus the current volume contains just a small selection of von Neumann's letters related to computers".
   
   If you're interested in von Neumann as a computer scientist, buy John von Neumann and the Origins of Modern Computing (History of Computing) instead.



2. John von Newman was one of the Renaissance Men of our century. He produced significant contributions in the areas of : Logic, Quantum Mechanics, Economics, Armaments, and Computer Science. As a case in point, the computer you are using to read this is almost certainly one based on von Newmann architecture. His work on the development of atomic weapons was as important as his development of the social concept of Mutually Assured Destruction which was the fundamental precept of the Cold War. Had he lived longer he would almost certainly have received a Nobel Prize in economics for his development of game theory. (He died at age 54, probably because of exposure to radiation.)
   
   This book is a compendium of letters that he wrote. It contains letters on many subjects written to a wide collection of people from scientists to plitical leaders, business leaders and declining an invitation to give a speech.
   
   In addition to the letters there is a 40 or so page preamble about him as a person and summarizing some of the work that he did. Largely unknown outside the technical areas in which he worked John von Newmann was a towering figure in twentieth century science. This book will not get a wide distribution, but it provides interesting insight into his thinking.

5 comments about Timothy Leary: Outside Looking In: Appreciations, Castigations, and Reminiscences by Ram Dass, Andrew Weil, Allen Ginsberg, Winona Ryder, William Burroughs, ... Huston Smith, Hunter S. Thompson, and Others.

1. Regardless of one's personal opinions about Timothy Leary, one cannot really deny the fact that he was a great man; great in the sense that his thoughts and ideas influenced an entire generation (and continues to do so), and that A LOT of people had - and still have - A LOT of strong feelings about everything he stood for. Perhaps it's too early to figure out how extensive his influence actually was. Everything he talked about didn't revolve around LSD, even though many tend to think just that. What many don't know, for instance, is that he contributed greatly to the field of psychology and developed different tests that are still in use today.
   
   Robert Forte has edited a book, not about Leary's life, but more about people who met him, were familiar with him, were close to him, were affected and influenced by him, and all in all had some sort of relation to him. Some of these people are Winona Ryder (to whom Leary was godfather), Hunter S. Thompson, Albert Hofmann (the chemist who synthesized LSD in 1938), Ken Kesey (another "psychedelic pioneer"), Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Robert Anton Wilson, and many more.
   
   Some of the contributions consist of Forte simply interviewing the individual in question, while in other cases the contributor has written the piece him/herself. But it's not all about Leary all the time. Timothy Leary is more a book about the psychedelic revolution itself than about one of its leading advocates. Richard Nixon referred to him as "the most dangerous man in the world", and sure, a great deal of the content is about him, what he accomplished, different incidents in his life, and so on. However, another great deal is about the use and abuse of psychedelic drugs, how they shaped and changed society and individual consciousness, how dangers (or harmless) they actually are, what happens to people who choose to try them, and how these now criminalized drugs could be used beneficially in different sorts of therapies.
   
   It's not the best book on the market if you want to learn more about Timothy Leary's opinions and messages, but on the other hand, it's a great book if you want to know some of the influence and the affect he had on his surroundings. Furthermore, through its use of sensible discussions by and with well-informed and rational people, the book offers great knowledge about the absurd American "War on Drugs" and all the hypocrisy this futile and senseless war is built upon.



2. This is a rich and revealing book that I always recommend to anyone trying to grasp the contradictory figure that was Timothy Leary - not least because many of its subjects are still struggling to grasp exactly what hit them when Leary entered their lives. Highlights for me include the essays by Ram Dass, Robert Anton Wilson and Ralph Metzner, as well as William Burroughs' ability to use a few brief words so well. Winona Ryder's eulogy is also terrific -- it has since been included in Copeland's book on the greatest eulogies of our time, and I liked it so much I used it as the foreword to my own biography on Leary, 'I Have America Surrounded'.
   
   As Forte writes in his introduction, this is "not a biography of Leary, nor an in-depth study of his ideas", and as such the critical review on this page by R. Goldstein seems to have missed the point of the book. Forte is not attempting to be a 'cheerleader' or promote his 'thesis', as is claimed, but instead provides a forum where those who knew Leary could record their memories and reminiscences. True, the majority are positive and loving, but this is no reason to criticize the book. The fact is Leary was deeply loved by many - which is something that those who condemn his character find it convenient to overlook. For this reason the book is an important record, but perhaps more importantly it is those who knew him best who often have the most revealing insights - and this is why the book is so valuable.



3. This book is a source of comfort to anyone disgruntled by Robert Greenfield's less than appreciative bio of Timothy Leary. Editor Robert Forte calls his project a "festschrift," which, if my rusty German holds up, loosely means "celebration of writing." It is by no means balanced; its cover promises castigations but delivers only one, ironically from former outlaw chemist Owsley Stanley. There are polite rebukes of Leary's methods from Huston Smith and Myron Stolaroff, but the rest of the book is mainly a chorus of paeans, a love fest that gets sloppy in places.
   
   Part of Forte's thesis is that Leary will come to be vindicated and revered as another Socrates or Galileo. Inevitably the uptight world will recognize the transformational power of psychedelics and, grasping the keys to the missing link in evolution, start popping them like vitamin supplements. Why millions of grateful acid veterans haven't united to demand a change in the drug laws goes unexplained. Like a lot of other issues the book grazes. Why was Eldridge Cleaver not more supportive of Leary in Algeria? Why was Art Linkletter hostile to Leary? What happened to Leary's children? What was "The Brotherhood" that Forte cryptically refers to a couple of times? What about the charges that Leary betrayed friends, including the lawyers who helped him avoid lengthier prison time? Although Forte concedes that Leary failed "to confront his shadow," the negative aspects of his life, he left the shadowy particulars for Robert Greenfield to detail.
   
   There are other shortcomings. The correspondence between Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard is vacuous, discussing where and when they plan to meet next. Albert Hofman's contribution is brief. Hunter Thompson's more caustic criticisms of Leary are absent, replaced by a short, all-is-forgiven comment. Some of the respondents use a pretentious argot prevalent in the `60s, reflecting the mindless blather of the drug-addled. And there are outrageous claims that transcendentalist philosophers Emerson and Thoreau took drugs, that psychedelics brought forth the computer revolution and the Internet. At least Forte didn't suggest that psychedelics are "the only visible hope for a race tottering on the brink of extinction." That claim was in a recent letter of complaint from the Leary estate to The New Yorker over the favorable review its critic gave to the Greenfield book.
   
   I don't blame Forte for being a cheerleader. He was only 11 years old during the '67 Summer of Love, so he didn't see the zombies walking down Haight Street and other hippie enclaves ingesting not only psychedelics but other wares sold by hierarchical criminal outfits (such as the Brotherhood?) engaged in the "democratization" of drug distribution. Gosh and golly, why would law enforcement ever consider LSD a gateway to heroin, methamphetamine and crack? Set and setting indeed.
   
   I thought I'd had enough of Leary after reading the Greenfield book, but I picked this one up after browsing its table of contents. It has limited appeal, so I give it three stars: one for the interview with Huston Smith, one for the interviews with Metzner & Stolaroff, and one for likening Leary to Huck Finn. Greenfield mistakenly linked him to Tom Sawyer.



4. Timothy Leary is a mythological figure. Almost everyone has an opinion of him, even if they have never read a word he wrote.
   Often opinions are second-hand filtered through this or that media source.

   The editor for this book, Robert Forte, one
   of Mircea Eliade's last students at the University of Chicago,
   does not provide us with second-hand information that he has digested, but instead, gathers an anthology of viewpoints from those who knew Timothy Leary. Not all are positive, and I was surprized to read the negative remarks of Owlsley Stanley in regards to Leary. Thanks to this compendium, we are allowed past the veil of the myth and get a glimpse of the human Timothy Leary.

   Robert Forte knew Timothy Leary personally and has edited another book, Entheogens and the Future of religion, that I highly recommend.

   Thomas Seay




5. Robert Forte is one of the most important living documentarians of psychedelic history and phenomonology. In this book, he's gathered a myriad voices of people who were really "there" when Leary was influencing people and who therefore have valuable commentary worth hearing -- both positive and negative. The folksy, chatty style of this book make it a pleasure to read. Along with his other book "Entheogens and the Future of Religion," Forte is performing an important informational and documentary service toward a fair assessment of the role that drugs have in society and also of the real-life figures who have affected this. This book is a must read for anyone interested in what Tim Leary (and for that matter, ...) were really like.

1 comments about Explorations: A Life of Underwater Adventure.

1. An excellent read. This is the life story of one of the Greatest marine geologists and explorers of our time. From top secret navy submarines to luxurious ocean liners to deep sea marine life this man has seen it all, this book helps to explain what wasn't in the other great books he has written, it is a personal account of everything he went through to get where he is now. It was one of the best books I have ever read and a must have for all fans.

2 comments about The First Copernican: Georg Joachim Rheticus and the Rise of the Copernican Revolution.

1. This book was too boring to finish. It bogs you down in information without being an interesting story.
   
   I enjoy astronomy books and astronomy history. One of my favorite books was "Tycho and Kepler: The Unlikely Partnership That Forever Changed Our Understanding of the Heavens". I got this book soon after reading that and thought it would grab me the same way. All it did was make my eyes heavy.
   
   Some day I might pick it up and finish it, but as for now, I'm off reading better choices.



2. This book is delightful and fun to read and anyone interested in the history of scientific discovery will enjoy it. Danielson manages to bring to vivid life the story of Copernicus's great insight, how it survived the political, religious, and academic obstacles of its time to reach the hands of other scholars, and how the Copernicus manuscript might never have come down to us at all but for Rheticus, who himself was the founder of modern trigonometry.
   
   While this is a very well-researched and scholarly book, I liked how Danielson brings the story alive, complete with the intrigue of the university politics and the national politics of the day. The author places you in the time. You feel the influence of Luther and Erasmus, patrons of the sciences, clerics of different stripes, dukes and mayors, and large scientific figures. And, for me what was interesting, the role of various competing academic institutions in the emerging nation-states of the Renaissance. That, and the story of all the tenuous links that must be secured before a great scientific idea comes to be accepted.
   
   Danielson makes the personalities real: their intellectual struggles, what drives them, and their foibles. In particular, I found myself outraged at the academic treachery of Osiander, who sullied the first publication of the Copernican manuscript. And readers will find a soap opera element in the charges faced by Rheticus for allegedly molesting a male student.
   
   Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to know the story of how the Copernican revolution began.