5 comments about FitzRoy: The Remarkable Story of Darwin's Captain and the Invention of the Weather Forecast.

1. If not for anything else he did in his life, this man should be remembered for setting up the first weather forecasting service in England during the middle nineteenth century. That he was the Captain of the "Beagle" when Charles Darwin sailed on it as 'naturalist'; is not half as important as he was the one who set in motion the random currents that caused Darwin to be on the ship for its' full five year plus voyage.
   
   He was a remarkable man who because he was also humble and self-effacing never ended up getting the critical acclaim that his life's work demanded. His five year voyage on the "Beagle" resulted in the most detailed mapping of the South American continent from the Plate to Valpariso, and especially the area around Cape Horn and the Straits of Magellan. So detailed were his maps that they were used for over 100 years.
   
   During the voyage, he also determined all of the meridians and set-up their places on maps by which other sailors were able to determine their place anywhere on the earth at any time. Later, he devised a system by which ships could be signaled at sea that a major storm was brewing created the "gale warning" system. His work on meteorology was the first to use telegraphy to coordinate the capture of weather statistics so that information could be printed in newspapers the same day. He also devised the first two day weather forecasting, including the coining of the word 'forecast'.
   
   The story of his life and accomplishments is well written, and well documented, besides being entertainingly presented. Great Biography.



2. This work, by John and Mary Gribbin, combines a deep respect for Robert FitzRoy and his achievements with sound research. The end result is a book that is accessible to anyone with an interest in this complex and multi-faceted man.
   
   Described by Charles Darwin as being 'A very extraordinary person', Robert FitzRoy served Britain as a naval captain (most famously as Captain of HMS Beagle), as a Governor of New Zealand, and in the field of weather forecasting.
   
   While covering the voyages of HMS Beagle, this book provides information on FitzRoy's governorship of New Zealand as well as his achievements in weather forecasting. Along the way, we obtain glimpses of the struggle between a greater understanding of science and a deep innate religious conservatism. Robert FitzRoy tragically took his own life a few months before his 60th birthday.
   
   A fascinating book about a fascinating man.
   
   Highly recommended
   
   Jennifer Cameron-Smith



3. I got this book because I am playing Fitzroy in Timberlake Wertenbakers play After Darwin. It has a wealth of information on the good Captain and enabled me to find a pathway into his mind that would not have had otherwise. The combination of excepts from the Narrative, Sullivan and Usborne's journals, and the record of Darwin himself paint an honorable picture that Fitroy would have been happy with. The recounting of the loss of a ship to the Fuegians on the voage preceeding Darwin is particuary interesting.



4. The father of weather forecasts and explorer of South America. Robert FitzRoy will be remembered by me. This book tells us about a great British aristocrat who gave more than he took. I love Patrick O'Brian and this could have been his but it is real story about a real person. FitzRoy was a remarkable man who history has pushed back to the shadows and labeled Darwin's Captain. FitzRoy, whose family is descended from Charles II, becomes a beloved British Man-o-war Captain, explorer, politician and eventual Vice Admiral. Mr. Gribbin gives us a picture of one of the last explorers and scientific innovators who charts South America, tries to support native rights in New Zealand and gives the world weather forecasting, yet is forgotten. His end did not justify his life. He was an amazing man who deserved more. He was faithful to his family, his country and religion. A good man and a great read.



5. The figure of Fitzroy lurks in the background of the Darwin saga and it is actually quite refreshing to draw him out on this score, both because of the interest in his life and work on its own terms and also for the light it throws on Darwin's early explorations in biology. Fitzroy's achievements in weather forecasting are little known, and his contribution to Darwin's education no doubt proceeds indirectly from the context of disciplined and meticulous scientific work in the Beagle's prime mission.

1 comments about Notable Mathematicians: From Ancient Times to the Present.

1. This book is everything the Booklist review states: excellent selection of individuals, a number of appendicies that provide valuable cross-tabulation information, and the most thorough time-line of mathematics I have seen (35 pages). It is a respectable reference book for students and the general public with reading skills of grade 9 or higher. The mathematics content is accessible to persons with intermediate algebra or higher.
   
   The unfortunate drawback of this book is that the biographies are in alphabetical order. The publishing company missed a valuable opportunity: if instead published in order of mathematical developments (semi-chronological) with some bridging material, the book could be both an "armchair" reading book for the general public and a textbook for courses in liberal arts mathematics, mathematics history, etc. Given the excellent cross-tabulations in the appendices, an electronic edition would also be highly valuable.
   
   A minor issue with the book is that the biographies have been slightly sanitized so as to be palatable with high school libraries in the U.S. At the same time, the authors struck a balance by being very forthcoming about the lives and fates of persons. For example, the entry on Pythagorous is excellent for a high-school reference book.
   
   This book can be found in public libraries throughout the U.S. and at many high-school and college libraries as well.
   
   Other books to consider:
   
   Victor Katz has published A History of Mathematics: An Introduction (2nd Edition) which is suitable for an upper-division mathematics-major course in math history. Highly recommended to teachers and students researching the development of mathematics.
   
   Tobias Dantzig's Number: The Language of Science which would be better subtitled "the vocabulary of measurement", is accessible to any successful college sophomore. It gives a somewhat chronological account of the human development of number concepts. Highly recommended to anyone interested in number concepts.

5 comments about High Calling: The Courageous Life and Faith of Space Shuttle Columbia Commander Rick Husband.

1. The Courage and Faith that Commander Husband exhibited in his life is to be admired! My 15 year old grandaughter wanted this for Christmas and she shared it with me. The title really tells you about his life: "High Calling".



2. I read this book and re-read it several times. Evelyn Husband did an excellent job describing the life of Rick Husband in this book. Some folks accuse her of being preachy, but what those folks need to know is that faith and religion is such a big part of Rick Husband's (and his family's) life that if she hadn't written it all, it would not have accurately portrayed the life that Rick Husband lived. This book changed my life in many more ways that not even people closest to me ever had. This book changed me from a nominal believer to a dedicated believer. This book helped me set my priorities correct in my life. It showed me the value of dedication, hard work, faith, and determination. In fact, this book has become my "Bible". After reading this book, Rick Husband and his family have and will always have a very special place in my heart.



3. I was surprised how really good this book was. As well as telling you tons of fascinating info about NASA and lots of interesting detail about the work of the astronauts, the reader is given an intimate look into what their families are put through. I highly recommend it.



4. The book High Calling is good. I recommend that if you enjoy real life novels you buy this book. It is about the astronaut Rick Husband and his wife Evelyn Husband. I liked it for that reason. Also, it gets to the point without too much detail but it has enough. It was also interesting how it told about all of the procedures that astronauts do and how their lives are. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books about real people in real situations. Another good thing is that the book is spiritual and tells people who read it to become more spiritual.



5. Very meaningful personal testimony to a most important event in our Nation's history.
   Should be read by everyone.

1 comments about The Einstein Almanac.

1. This fine book is essentially a chronological bibliography of Einstein's writings. While not exhaustive (Calaprice uses the word "selected"), this book provides a good real glimpse into what Einstein actually thought and researched and wrote as a scientist, philosopher and humanist from 1901-1955. Serious fans of Einstein (like myself) who don't have the multi-volume Collected Papers of Albert Einstein at arm's length will find this little book quite useful. Here you find the titles of articles, papers, essays, and even interviews accompanied by the originals in German (where appropriate). Descriptive or explanatory comments follow most of them. Did you know that Einstein studied the meandering of rivers? He wrote some illuminating papers on this geological question. Or that he and Leo Szilard patented home refrigeration by the "Einstein-Szilard pump"? Most standard biographies wouldn't mention these. But an Einstein almanac might. This one does. (The important scientific papers are of course not neglected.)
   
   To place Einstein's life in context, Calaprice includes many historical and scientific events - some of which bear only a remote relevance to Einstein. I personally think these can be replaced by more biographical info. For example, what James Watson and Murray Gell-Mann did, while interesting and important, hardly merit entry into an Einstein Almanac. What Otto Hahn did is more relevant and may be included. There are other books on the history of science in the twentieth century and even more on the history of historical events. My idea of an Einstein almanac would exclude anything not directly related or relevant to Einstein. If it were up to me, any event not directly involving Einstein I would ruthlesssly exclude.
   
   This is my main humble criticism (and my own opinion). One other shortcoming is that few personal letters are included. But this is quite understandable because letters don't usually carry titles. Also, Einstein wrote so many letters in his lifetime that to list them all and summarize them with comments would be a herculean task. For letters, interested students should refer to the CPAE. But I think a separate chapter on the most important letters Einstein wrote might be a good idea for the next edition (if any). Some of Einstein's most incisive thoughts are found in his letters (such as those to Max Born) and a brief overview of these may be useful.
   
   One more suggestion for improvement (bear with me) might be a detailed timeline of Einstein's life. Timelines differ in details. Very extensive and all-inclusive timelines provide a virtually day-by-day chronology. One outstanding example of these would be University of Delaware professor Leo Lemay's Documentary History of Benjamin Franklin, which is an on-going project available on the Web. It gives impressive details of what Franklin was doing and where he was doing it on numerous specific dates. Calaprice's other books about Einstein already have brief timelines. An Einstein Almanac could use a very detailed one. (This book also has a brief timeline of Einstein's early years - but then again not all the details seem to me relevant. A lot of things happened in 1895 for Einstein, but I see no point in mentioning the invention of the Gillette razor, for instance, because this has nothing to do with Einstein, whether or not he used one.) Just listing all of Einstein's personal and scientific activities, rather than non-Einstein events, can be a worthwhile if lengthy task. But an almanac is designed to be full of dates.
   
   Leave out the fat of irrelevant non-Einstein stuff, and build more muscle of Einstein-exclusive matters, and this book could be even better and more useful than it already is. If this book is also an on-going project, then there is room for growth on what is in my view an excellent basis.
   

1 comments about No Time to be Brief: A Scientific Biography of Wolfgang Pauli.

1. Fans of modern physics are well acquainted with Pauli. A Nobel Laureate (1945), who is best remembered for the Pauli Exclusion Principle. Enz takes us through Pauli's life. Most notably the crucial years at the Gottingen school of quantum mechanics in the 1920s, where quantum mechanics was born.

   The book takes us into his research. But it also conveys some of the intellectual ferment and excitement of those times. And across the pages appear many other august notables in physics. Einstein, Born, Bohr...

   Enz also tries to give some insight into Pauli's personality and his dealings with his family.

   An enjoyable read.

No comments about A Passion For Discovery.

5 comments about Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis.

1. With two new books being released this week about Merian (one a bio, the other a collection of her art), many will have their interest piqued to read further about this brilliant, pioneering natural historian/artist. Kim Todd writes well, has mastered her subject, and seamlessly weaves interesting asides about slavery and abolitionism, Darwin and Linnaeus, birds of paradise and peacock flowers, Peter the Great and the aftermath of the Thirty Years War, and more into one of those fascinating works that compel you to scour the bibliography and notes for more to delve into. How Merian is left out of most, if not all, general history books is baffling (sexism, misogyny, and the old-boy-network yet again)? A fascinating life story, and Kim Todd's considerable gift with prose narrative make this a book that even those with no prior interest in the subjects of metamorphosis or 16th/17th century exploration will enjoy. It has made me want to read more about the early years of natural history, pre-Darwin.(Todd's earlier book, TINKERING WITH EDEN, is also excellent).



2. What possesses a European woman to pack up her life and move across the ocean to study the natural world? Did I mention that it was 1699?
   
   Chrysalis tells the story of Maria Sibylla Merian, a woman living in the late 1600s and early 1700s, who is fascinated by the process in which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. She cultivates them as one might cultivate roses. More, she studies them in their own habitat. But how did she do it in a time when women were subject to their men, when witch trials were the norm, and dabbling in insect life was more than suspect?
   
   But Chrysalis is more than a biography. It is a study in entomology. What is the process from caterpillar to butterfly? And why do the chrysalises sometimes produce flies rather than butterflies? Remember this is the time of "spontaneous generation" when scientists thought frogs came from rain and meat produced flies.
   
   Chrysalis is more than entomology. It is religious history. What made the Pietist sects split off from the Lutheran church? What was the call of the Labidists for Merian? And how did she slide by the rules of stripping off worldly trappings in order to continue to paint and study?
   
   And still that is not all. There is her study across the ocean in Surinam. Her return. Her art. The study of microbiology with the invention of the microscope. This book is a comprehensive study of much that was going on in the world. It is fascinating and the art is beautiful. If I have any complaint, it is that the author references pieces that aren't pictured in the book and when the pieces are pictured, there is nothing to note that. I spent a lot of time flipping to the grouped photos in an often fruitless search.
   
   Armchair Interviews says: This is an overall fascinating book that could be improved by better referencing and picturing of the art.



3. [...]
   
   Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis, a nonfiction book by Missoula writer Kim Todd, sounds like a Victorian adventure novel: a fifty-two-year-old woman abandons her husband and European continent to study the metamorphosis of caterpillars in Surinam. But this was before the Victorians. In 1699, more than a century before Darwin, sixty-five years after Galileo's prosecution, and a time when witch hunts were part of the recent past, Maria Sibylla Merian embarked on a journey of scientific discovery in the dangerous New World with only her daughter for company. While the male colonists grew sugar cane on their plantations, Merian's slaves and servants helped her locate insects, reptiles, and plants for her to study and depict in her captivating watercolors. She trusted the natives' knowledge to assist her research, something that would be used against her reputation in the decades after her death.
   
   By the time Merian stepped on that boat to Surinam, she was a mother of two, had published two books about the metamorphosis of caterpillars in her native Germany, and spent five years living with a Pietist religious sect in a castle in Amsterdam, where she argued successfully for a separation from her husband using the sect's beliefs. At the time, a woman's husband was her legal representative and the court ordered numerous women to return to their abusive husbands. But after Merian's successful separation, she lived in Amsterdam and financially supported herself and her youngest daughter. Watercolors were her tool because "guild rules banned women from painting with oils." To get on that boat and to fund her scientific and artistic expedition, Merian sold her paintings and any unnecessary belongings.
   
   Kim Todd who received the PEN/Jerard Fund Award and the Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing for her previous book, Tinkering with Eden, vividly describes the cultural, religious, and political time Merian lived in, as well as her artwork and scientific contributions, without overwhelming the reader. Todd also introduces other fascinating, accomplished women of the seventeenth century, and the new, exciting time of natural philosophers (the term scientist hadn't been created yet, neither had biology, ecology, or any of the other -ologies). Spontaneous generation, the idea that creatures could be born from non-living sources, was a common belief during Merian's time. Todd includes some of the recipes. My favorite is:
   
   To get a bee -
   Find a sunny space roofed with tile
   Beat a three year old bull to death
   Put poplar and willow branches under the body
   Cover it with thyme and serpellium
   The bees will emerge
   
   In language as colorful as Merian's paintings, Todd also describes the intricacies of metamorphosis and some of the insects that befuddled Merian and other natural philosophers. Through Todd's gripping prose, I became excited about the tricky metamorphosis of the large blue butterfly (Maculinea arion). Trust me, that's an accomplishment. If you don't believe insects and metamorphosis are interesting, you will feel differently after this book. To experience Merian's life and what happened to her work and reputation after her death, you will need, and want, to read Chrysalis. One hint: Peter the Great is involved.



4. You may have seen the artwork of Maria Sibylla Merian, as it is a staple for pretty but accurate pictures of butterflies, caterpillars, moths, and flowers, and can be found on china or stationery. She was more than a painter or engraver, though. Her life was unique. She had artistic talent, but she was also a keen scientific observer, who advanced the study of insects immeasurably. She was a teenaged bride who left her husband who divorced her, and she had to care for their two children. She was so enthralled with the study of moths and butterflies that at age 52 she traveled to a mysterious and largely unknown land to see more of them, and to bring back pictures and scientific descriptions of their behavior. And she did this more than three centuries ago. _Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis_ (Harcourt) by Kim Todd is a thoughtful examination of what we can know about Merian's life from the few personal documents that remain about her, and a proper reevaluation of her place in the world's scientific effort. It also is a fine resource about the biological controversies that were brewing in the seventeenth century, controversies that had to be settled in order for a basic understanding of insect life to take hold.
   
   Merian was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1647. She could not have a formal apprenticeship like a male artist in training, and she could not even paint in oils, because the rules of the guild forbade women from doing so. She was, however, able to use watercolors and engraving with beauty and utility to bring her objects of study almost to life upon the page. When Merian studied or painted insects, she included what foods they ate, and how they proceeded from egg to larva to pupa and to the adult, and it was all part of her contribution to science and to the branch that later was to be known as ecology. In doing so, she was working against scientific currents of the time, since it was held that insects could spontaneously generate from rotting meat, dew, or wool. She also was taking a risk in showing interest in possibly satanic insects, especially since she kept them alive, fed them, and kept their cocoons in her kitchen. Women were accused of witchcraft for less. Dutch curiosity cabinets did contain spectacular specimens from the colony of Surinam, but Merian wanted to see the insects as they lived, and used the money she made from her books and her paintings to finance her two-year trip there. She relied on the natives to tell her about the plants and their uses, and she got the first rudimentary understandings of the rainforest as a complex ecosystem; she observed, for instance, that butterflies at the tops of the trees were different from the ones nearer the ground.
   
   Merian left Surinam after only two years because of illness, probably malaria. After she returned to the Netherlands, she published _Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium_ in 1705, full of pictures and descriptions of the colorful insects she had seen on her travel. The beauty of the pictures was praised, but only succeeding generations could appreciate the ecological innovations of her insect portraits. Her reputation suffered after her death; if she were discussed at all, it was to ridicule her picture of a spider capturing a hummingbird. After all, she had no formal education, she accepted the reports of natives who lived among the insects she depicted, and she was a woman. It was only in the twentieth century that her reputation was restored, not just as an artist but as a scientist who insisted on direct observation of the insects she described, and who realized how their cycles linked within a larger natural system. Todd's book has to have a great deal of speculation in it; she includes many sentences beginning with "perhaps" or "probably". This is because the sources are scant. There are Merian's books and paintings, of course, but beyond that are a couple of her legal documents and less than twenty letters she wrote. Nonetheless, Merian's contributions to biology were considerable, and Todd's well-illustrated and thoughtful book helps in the restoration of her reputation.



5. Today Maria Merian is mostly known for her lovely butterfly prints, but back in 1699 she sailed from Amsterdam to South America on an expedition to study metamorphosis - a rare journey for any naturalist of the times, much less a woman over fifty - and spent two years in the tropical jungle seeking out caterpillars and studying butterflies. Her accomplishments were largely dismissed and forgotten but come to life here in a gorgeous biography surveying her life and achievements.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch

2 comments about A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson.

1. After reading five books by Sigurd F. Olson I felt it only right to read his biography. A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson was an insightful look at an incredible person.

   From the very early days of Sigurds Life he is drawn toward nature. As Olson's life progresses this propensity turns into his lifes calling. Olson accomplishes more than ten people could in one lifetime. Wilderness defender, author, family man, canoeist- If you are entranced by Sigurd Olson's books you owe it to yourself to read his biography.

   The biography describes things about Sigurd F. Olson that one would never guess from reading his books, and elaborates on others.

   I'm particularly enjoy reading how hard it was for Olson to get published. He encountered numerous rejections before his first book The Singing Wilderness way published in the 1950's.

   Perhaps what I like most about this biography is that Olson seems so much like myself. With each page I learned more about myself and my potential. There is a lot we can learn from the life of Sigurd F. Olson. It is best summed up this way: If you have a cause that is worth persuing keep at it, and don't stop until you've achieved your goals.

   Thanks Becks for writing such a wonderful book about a wonderful person.




2. Anyone who has enjoyed the incredible beauty of Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area owes a debt to Sigurd Olson, subject of David Backe's "A Wilderness Within". This well-written book helps us understand Sig and how his intense passion to become a significant writer intertwined with his deep spiritual need for wilderness. The book may go a bit overboard in emphasizing some of his shortcomings: his temper, his need to be important, his occasional mistakes, but it also makes clear how much those close to him loved him. It is painful to consider how much the northern Minnesota wilderness would have been developed and decimated but for his efforts. TH Bracken MD Onamia MN

5 comments about Apollo EECOM: Journey of a Lifetime (Apogee Books Space Series).

1. The chapters about his direct involvement in Apollo as EECOM were fascinating. He accomplished his goal of adding to the historical record from his perspective. Liebergot actually had several critical moments related to Apollo 13. From memory: The failed simulation that started the concept of the LEM as a lifeboat, the cryo stir, the first recognition of there being a problem, his repeated rebuffment of seemingly ridiculous recommendations from a specific controller, and the critical decision to shut down the fuel cells and the realization that brought to others.
   
   I found his writing style to be grittier (that is a positive comment), highlighted by the italicized side comments. I found this to be intriguing especially since he then retrospectively judged the key moments in his life. This would be similar to a person's writing in a journal to help them make sense of the world. I also took the opportunity to read Gene Kranz's book after I read Apollo EECOM and found that book to be an excellent companion and contrast. First, he is also talking about same events from within the same room, just with a different perspective. He also writes (I am sure with his coauthor's assistance), in a grammatically technical writer's way. I liked both writing styles (Liebergot's and Kranz's) very much. He also brings in Sy's involvements, again from his perspective, which dovetails nicely with the recollections in this book. Not that it was needed, it also validates Sy's version of the time. The fact that Kranz mentioned the song included on the CD-ROM made me chuckle (and I hope he gets to hear it again to make him cringe).
   
   The sequence of his life's story is a fascinating portrayal of excelling in the face of adversity. He and his siblings had a horrible family life compounded by the economics of the times. I suspect it was the resultant aversion that pushed him all the way to California away from family and onto a path that lead to his involvement with one of the greatest endeavors man has achieved so far. While he may not be happy with individual moments in his life, as a sum, possibly with the help of the book, I believe he realizes that it has been a good life. The zenith of the human experience is when man takes tragedy and is able to look past it to convert it into something positive and fulfilling. That is the essence of Sy Liebergot's life. He chose to rise above his predicament. There are many, many people who would do well to learn from his example. In looking at his life and story, I am reminded of another book and movie, namely "Rocket Boys"/"October Sky". The difference is the extreme dysfunctionality of his home life and degree of poverty.
   
   Equally fascinating was the accompanying CD-ROM with Mission Control voice loops from the Apollo 13 explosion timeframe. These alone would justify an interested person's purchase of the book. First, I related to the working of the problem. I get very ill, very complicated patients in my emergency department. The underlying problem is unknown. I start taking a series of actions lead by priorities and try to gain more information to better define the problem altering actions as the situation evolves. This can take anywhere from one to three hours. Sometimes the patients don't make it. Most of the time I get them stabilized and out of the department. It was this same process that I "witnessed" through the voice loops. The other perspective was that of the actual time of the unfolding crisis. Other writings, and the movie, give the impression that it was a very short time (15 minutes or so) before the lifesaving critical move to the LEM. The voice loops show that it was well over an hour.
   
   Even though the Apollo program was 30 plus years ago, the fact that we haven't even gone back continues the weight of its accomplishments. I feel that the loss of continuity and the perspective of history and experience will severely impact the strides that we have yet to make. Works such as this one should be mandatory reading for our future space pioneers so that they will gain that needed perspective. Hopefully, it won't take an Armageddon level event to spawn the next great space engineering race.



2. If you want to know exactly how it felt to be in mission control during the Apollo 13 mission, this is the book to get. The CD ROM has the actual recording of the mission control audio loop, just before the Apollo 13 explosion, and several hours of recording after. You can hear how fast the controllers summed up the state of the spacecraft, and how they quickly sorted through their narrowing options.
   
   Sy provides history as to how he became a flight controller, and how his fellow controllers lived during the Apollo program days.
   
   If you want to know what it's like to get to and be inside mission control, and actually hear what the mission control audio loops sounds like, this is a must-get book and CD package.



3. This book is a little short (200 pages) and Sy spends almost a third of that on his troubled childhood. But is a worthwhile read for someone interested in Apollo Era NASA. Sy gives a more low level view of the operation than we have gotten from the many astronaut biographies and flight director biographies (Kraft and Kranz). I enjoyed the "extra's" that he included on the CD, particularly a humorous song from a post-Apollo 13 roast. I would not make it the first book I read about the moon program, but it is a nice collection to my NASA book collection.



4. In a subject that has been charted from boundless angles in thousands of chronicles, Sy's memoir emerges as a truly brilliant account of his role in perhaps one of the most significant endeavors of humankind. Sy's book is much-much more than simply a personal account of his life and role in the space program, it is an extremely well written and compulsively honest tour de force of this history. He teaches us that the story of Apollo was not wholly isolated to the confines of the spacecraft, and that many of the real mavericks worked quietly behind complex consoles inside Mission Control, solving some of the most intricate and sometimes life threatening problems that these men faced in our quest to explore the moon.
   
   Sy's book is in my opinion is a sobering and paramount account of the early manned space flight program from an important and vital perspective. It is a true archive of history that is told not only through narrative, illustrations, and photographs; but rather a historical archive containing audio (which is included on a wonderful CD-ROM), personal artifacts, and technical examples (brilliant panel displays) that bring this history to life. Having spent decades reading every account I can get my hands on, I can safely state that Sy's memoir will remain a solid bookend to one of America's greatest chapters in history.



5. This book isn't one of those thick, literary historical tomes that we have seen a good many of in the last few years from former NASA managers. Rather, this feels like you have been personally invited into Sy's living room to sit on the sofa and look over his memorabilia while he tells you about it over your shoulder. It's a surprisingly frank and honest look at his life. Rather than trying to build himself up to be an historical figure, he pulls no punches with an account of a difficult, scrappy early life where he had to learn to survive his family, then work out how to leave and make something of himself. He tells this compelling story so well that I would have read it even if he had not gone on to join NASA - something I also felt when reading Scott Carpenter's account of his difficult upbringing in his recent memoir. When Liebergot moves on to his years at NASA, we get a refreshingly different account of how things worked there. Most other books on this era have been written by those in the upper echelons of management, but Liebergot here shows us what it was like for the footsoldier in the trenches, with a few little accounts of tempers lost in mission control and other disagreements that the official histories try and gloss over. Rather than do this as a tell-all, Liebergot includes his own failings in the mix - he doesn't hide the fact that he is now on his third marriage, nor the reasons. Liebergot was there for some of NASA's finest undertakings, and this book tells you what it was like from a human perspective - the weariness, the shortcomings, the oversights - that round out the picture very well.

   In short, this is not a polished history of NASA at its finest hour. Rather it is a very loose, informal journey through one man's difficult life, and how he managed to wash up in the right place at the right time.

2 comments about Emanuel Swedenborg: Visionary Savant in the Age of Reason (Swedenborg Studies, No. 14).

1. Swedenborg is thoroughly worth studying, especially if you have interest in mystical Christianity, or mystic visionaries, such as Ibn Arabi, William Blake, Rudolph Steiner, Paramsahamsa Yogananda, and Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi. His Life story is amazing and inspiring and he is one of the "biggies". Buy this book, you won't regret it!



2. Researched and written by Ernst Benz, and translated into English by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, Emanuel Swedenborg: Visionary Savant In The Age Of Reason is a thoroughly documented autobiography of the scientist Emanual Swedenborg, a great and influential mind of the 18th century. Swedenborg underwent a profound spiritual transformation in 1744 and thereafter devoted himself to extensively documenting his visions of the world of the afterlife. A profound, amazing, and detailed account of a revolutionary scientific and spiritual thinker, Emanual Swedenborg: Visionary Savant In The Age Of Reason is critically important reading for all serious students of Swedenborg's life, work, philosophy, and metaphysical teachings.