4 comments about Pathways of Chance.

1. David Peat possesses one of the most incisive, expansive minds I've
   ever known. His work has inspired a generation. His
   autobiographical Pathways of Chance is a fascinating roadmap of
   20th-century learning and a beacon to the future. No one perceives
   connections or explains them with greater clarity than Peat. This
   book is a moveable feast."
   Larry Dossey, MD, The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things, Healing Words and Reinventing Medicine.
   
   Yes, physicists are strange beings and usually we fail to see just what
   makes them tick or we can't imagine how anyone in their right mind would
   ever become one. David Peat's new book provides an informative and honest
   from-the-heart answer. This autobiographical look behind the scenes will
   inform and engage you as you follow along Dr. Peat's journey through time
   and meet all of the characters he found so interesting.
   Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D, The Yoga of Time Travel
   
   
   Here we have that rare and wonderful thing: a scientist who can truly write. Peat's
   autobiography is a daring fusion of the memoir and the cutting-edge essay. It makes a
   rich and readable introduction, not only to Peat's own extraordinary life and his web of
   20th-century connections, but also to some of the most tantalising ideas and figures of
   the period, across both science and art. It is, at times, provocative; at other times,
   poignantly human. Throughout, it is erudite and, above all, keenly concerned about how
   we, as a species and a planet, move forward in the 21st-century. Peat's words are subtle
   catalysts, sparking in us our own potential for transformation at all levels of life.
   Pathways of Chance is a fascinating book, and an important one. Read it now.
   Alison McLeod, novelist The Wave Theory of Angels
   
   David Peat has one of the liveliest, most wide-ranging, depth probing minds I've ever encountered. Peat's thoughts on physics, philosophy and the arts, put forward in a genial, gracious writing style, reads like a can't-put-down mystery novel. Pathways of Chance will surely appeal to all who are interested in any of these subjects as well as those who like reading about his and other famous people's fascinating lives.
   Joseph Eger, Conductor, Symphony for United Nations, author of
   Einstein's Violin: A Conductor's Notes on Music, Physics and Social Change



2. "Pathways of Chance" was a joy to write. It was an opportunity to look back on my life, recall the people I had met and explore the ideas that had intrigued me. The book begins in wartime England, continues with my life as a student in Liverpool at the time of the Beatles, it then moves to Canada, to a meeting with the physicist and philosopher, David Bohm, an encounter with the Blackfoot and other Native Americans, to my on going interactions with artists and finally a move to a medieval hilltop village in Italy and the creation of the Pari Center for New Learning.
   
   The book is not only about my personal encounters, it is also an exploration and explanation of the ideas I have spent my life exploring: - the mysteries of quantum reality, the paradox of "Schrödinger's Cat", David Bohm's proposal that an activity of information pervades the universe and that mind was present from the beginning. The book discusses how the languages we speak affect what we see and do. It touches on synchronicities (meaningful synchronicities) and the ideas of Carl Jung, it looks at the way our understanding of the cosmos may be encoded within our bodies, the relationship between art and science, the possibility of new forms of ethical action and my hopes for the future.
   
   F. David Peat is the author of twenty books including "From Certainty to Uncertainty: The Story of Science and Ideas in the Twentieth Century", "Blackwinged Night: Creativity in Nature and Mind", "Blackfoot Physics", "Synchronicity: The Bridge between Matter and Mind", "Seven Life Lessons of Chaos" (with John Briggs) and "Science, Order and Creativity" with David Bohm



3. Unlike a vast majority of sociologist and scientists who's theories for tackling Social/Global problems merely laps back into pure academia, David Peat is unique in that his theories you can actually apply. This comes about because his theories and whole approach to life within the community around him in Pari(Italy) are interwoven.I know this because his ideas have already caused ripples in my part of the world and have lead to some very interesting and tangible results. Now in his bio David shows us all so much more through his experiences, and go on the journey that helped change so many lives!
   Claire Appleby UK (T.A.M.S.).



4. This is a fascinating book about the nature of reality. The scientific method has evolved over centuries to understand physical reality. Dr. David Peat is trained in this method, having a PhD and being a researcher in physics. He uses his skills to elucidate several insights from modern physics in terms that are delightfully accessible to non-physicists. Human experience is another type of reality. Various academic disciplines such as psychology, sociology and economics are concerned the understanding of human reality. Other windows on human reality are provided by self-awareness, introspection, and accounts of other peoples' lives. (See "The Universe in a Single Atom" by the Dalai Lama, who is highly trained in self-awareness, for another book that discusses both types of reality.) Scientists who develop an understanding of our physical universe are, by necessity, also experiencing their own human reality. Pathways of Chance includes stories about renowned physicists Wolgang Pauli and David Bohm to shed light on the human aspects of reality.
   
   The reader receives a double gift: informed insights about physical reality, and a perspective on human reality that is advised by analytical methods more usually applied only to the physical world. Physics has made great, and occasionally controversial, strides by developing models of reality. These models have enabled humankind to influence physical reality in very powerful ways. For example, understanding the equivalence of energy and matter has resulted in the use of nuclear energy for many purposes. The models may be mental constructs, but their uses have huge impacts on our human experience. Of course, the construction of the mental models is itself a human experience, but undertaken by a few people and published in journals with language and symbols that are accessible to only a small number of trained individuals. The book gives insight into the minds of that small number of people.
   
   Pathways of Chance reminds the reader that there is not really a solid barrier between physical and human realities. Any observation influences the system that is being observed. This is the basis of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. The more accurately one knows the position of a sub-atomic particle the less certain one is of its momentum, precisely because the act of observation has an impact on the particle. In a similar way, this book may have a remarkable influence on our world as readers become aware of its insights. Indeed, towards the end of the book, Dr. Peat briefly discusses economic reality, i.e., the behavior of our social system. I recommend the book as an accessible and wide-ranging account of physics, language, music, art and human experience.

No comments about Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam - The First Muslim Nobel Scientist.

5 comments about Strange Brains and Genius: The Secret Lives Of Eccentric Scientists And Madmen.

1. There is little reason beneath the popularity of reality as it is presented or portrayed to humans except that it is the concoction of the accumulation of data that has been filtered through the conscience of other humans in a position to use it for the benefit of themselves, or the institutions for whom they work. All of current perception is subject to this filtration mechanism that results from the tunnel vision of public and private protocols that created it. Every human is the ongoing creation of the information flow surrounding him or her, and the victim of it, as well as the creator of it.
   
   There is nothing written in stone that forms the human protocol of mankind except what humans are taught to preference - for its good effects, or occasionally, for its bad effects upon societies in which they reside during their lifetime. Interpretation is 100% of that ballgame.
   
   What humans make of alternate realities is tied to their willingness to both question and evaluate alternate realities, their significance and the manner in which they appreciate the introduction of such conflict, or whether their aim is to oppress it. Spiritual and intellectual freedom to examine alternate realities is the provine of freedom, itself, and serves to protect and preserve it, or to further encroach upon its potential to compromise the physical and pscyhological mobility that is the result of such entertainment. A public unwilling to entertain alternate realities is, therefore, a captive of its own purview, and strength lies only in the ability to examine alternate realities and come to logical and beneficial conclusions for the greater good, not to be hoarded for the benefit of a few fortunate souls. Mental capture is the equivalent of physical capture, and reveals much about the predators who would use the force and perception of tradition to deny not only the existence but the potential of human freedom by molding it into a sealed box like that of Pandora's, never to be opened for view or scrutiny. If humanity depends upon that process of capture and seal, it lives only a simulation of existence, not a real existence.



2. Excellent book on the frailties of some great scientists and price paid for genius. I couldn't put this book down until its completion. This book will keep your interests from start to finish.



3. Pickover's book is "stuffed" with fascinating facts and information regarding the bizzarre personal lives of history's most prominent intellectual thinkers. Like a modern day Mesmer, Pickover leaves the reader spellbound with his unique gift of captivating the mind by illuminating THE MIND itself. This book a gem, the Mona Lisa of mental profiles. What's more, Pickover reveals that OCD isn't a disability ITS A SUPERPOWER! As a certified Obsessive Compulsive myself, I found new life and strength in Pickover's work. Knowing that OCD has plagued the greatest thinkers in history makes the burden that much easier to bear. I recommend this book to all Obsessive Compulsives. It should be recommended reading for all "MONKISH PEOPLES" everywhere. I will forever be indebted to Dr. Pickover. For he has given me an exciting new angle on this dreadful disability.



4. I liked this book in the beginning but some of the chapters were longer than others, and the facts were interesting but it was also very disturbing in some parts. I lost interest in it after awhile. Definitely a different book. I would rate it 2.5 to 3 stars. I think that each of the scientists deserved the same amount of recognition. There was only one madman in there Ted Kaczynski who shouldn't have been in there. The book would have been better if it was just about scientists.



5. This is a fun book.It is a worthy companion to the scores of books written about genius-eccentrics -- savants who listen to very different drummers. I don't recommend it as a cover-to-cover read unless your OC switch is on; it should be left somewhere like a night stand, bathroom shelf, or by the computer where one has a few free minutes. Judging from the many other books Pickover has written, this appears to be a syncretic collection of research notes assembled in a fairly logical collection of mini-biographies. And, contrary to other reviews, there are enough references and citations for further readings about a particular person. I also suspect he was researching information relating to himself -- as a multi-talented genius (and not a madman). If so, I would support that he qualifies for this distinction.
   Well worth the price.

2 comments about Don't Throw This Away! The Civil Engineering Life.

1. This book is fantastic. The stories are very funny and entertaining for geek and non-geek alike. I highly recommend this book.



2. This is a great book of short stories written by a insightful Engineer and Professor.
   Brian has a way of bringing humor to the daily events we all experience. I especially like the stories about his "Technological Friend", who sounds brilliant.

No comments about Elizabeth Blackburn and the Story of Telomeres: Deciphering the Ends of DNA.

5 comments about Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun.

1. The old admonish about never judging a book by its cover is very apropos to Dr. Space. The book's jacket touts this biography as a "...rare, balanced study..." of Von Braun's life. Sadly, that isn't the case. Ward clearly states that he had met Von Braun more than once. Those interactions obviously left Ward with favorable impressions of the man, which end up shaping the portrayal of his subject. Von Braun is depicted as an almost super-human being that was loved by most, but despised by a jealous, inferior few who made the end of his life miserable. Even Von Braun's faults, toward which a chapter is dedicated, are depicted not as flaws in character but as mild eccentricities and naughtiness. Yet, Von Braun's career strongly hints that he was a firm believer that (at least professionally) the ends justified the means. A more balanced biography would have the explored this aspect of Von Braun's personality further.
   
   The reader is especially shortchanged in the depiction of Von Braun's technical skills. Von Braun is primarily shown in the workplace as a cheerleader type manager who got the best from his staff. Virtually none of his technical accomplishments are mentioned, leaving the reader to wonder why a good manager would be awarded the National Medal of Science and ranked second on the list of the 100 "Stars of Aerospace". While detailed technical descriptions might be over the head of some readers (after all, most of us aren't rocket scientists), some illustration would have been helpful to appreciate Von Braun's creativity.
   
   With the atrophying of the U.S. space program and the time that's passed since his death, the general public's knowledge and appreciation of Von Braun is sadly fading from memory. A good biography of this rocketry giant would restore the widespread respect that he deserves. Unfortunately, Dr. Space is just a warm up to that more definitive biography which has yet to be written.



2. The novel Dr. Space: The Life of Wernher von Braun is written as a biography to show the main events in the life of Dr. von Braun. Although the book does not strictly follow a timeline of his life, it does basically follow the course of his life from his early childhood until his death in 1977. The book highlights his early promise as a musician but then shows how he became fascinated by rockets and the stars through small experiments and a telescope. The book then goes on to show his rise from firing rockets with a group of young enthusiasts to heading the German army's rocket development throughout World War II. After the war, von Braun heads to the United States where he and his team work on all kinds of missiles. All the while, von Braun attempts to convince the American government to allow him to develop a space program. The novel then follows his incredible career as a designer for the rockets that launched the first U.S. satellite into space and also carried the first man to the moon. This story is given added credibility by the fact that the author was a newspaper writer in von Braun's adopted hometown of Huntsville and knew the scientist personally. He writes the novel to share his opinions on the life and work of Wernher von Braun. The book is a good read for anyone with an interest in history and especially for anyone who is fascinated by rocketry. Since von Braun is the father of the American space program and a pioneer in the field of rocketry, this work is a great read for anyone with an interest in science.



3. Many rocket history buffs will review this book very closely, and be very critical if it doesn't treat every aspect of their personal interests completely. This book will fall short for many, depending on an individual's particular interest niche'. Criticizing this book in such a way is crazy.....it's a fine historical read. If you want in-depth technical descriptions of his works, then research those specifically. Similarly, if you want to dwell on the moral aspects of being a Nazi rocket researcher, then research that on its own. But, on balance, if you want to read about a man who rose to prominance "on the wrong side of the tracks," where his brilliance thrived, and how that transformed the modern era into the space age, then read this book. It's a great book about a great mind.



4. I really enjoyed this book. I worked at ABMA and later NASA during the late 1950's and early 1960's as a student trainee and it was pretty heady stuff for a young guy from South Georgia to be involved with members of Dr. Von Braun's team. Ward provides excellent insights into Dr. von Braun as an individual and his role in the nation's "space race". While at times it comes across as a little " promotional" it's an excellent story and makes one wonder what our space efforts would be like today if had he been chosen as head of NASA



5. I found this to be a very interesting book to read. Wernher von Braun is one amazing man and and lived a very different and amazing life. This books gives you a bit of a look inside the man, what made him tick. There are a lot of interviews with people who worked with him or new him. The book is well written and is a must read if you are into the history of the NASA space program.

5 comments about The Scientist: A Metaphysical Autobiography.

1. One of my four most influential authors, I first read of John in an Omni magazine and I do not remember what the story was about. Soon I was drawn to his books on dolphin research and I read every thing that he has written on them. He was the foremost pioneer and one of the best in dolphin research. One of his goals was to communicate with dolphins and he came pretty close but gave it up when he decided man was not ready for that knowledge. The movie "Day of the Dolphin" originates out of his dolphin research and showed how man has taken his research and knowledge, suppressed it to the public, and used it for power and political gain. One of the largest influences on me of the dolphin studies was my understanding that there were intelligent beings on earth either on par with or superior with humanity. Knowing and accepting this has been very influential in my life and how I have grown. I followed along on the rest of John's writings and learned from and was influenced by them as well. His books on spirituality and the world beyond our consciousness have lead me beyond many of the walls placed in front of my mind by our society. The movie "Altered States" originated from Lilly's book "The Center of the Cyclone" which was about his experiences with altered states of the mind. The presence of CCG's, or the Coincidence Control Group, that John met when out of his body has stayed with me since reading of them. For John was told by them that we have control of small scale coincidences but the CCG works with the large scale coincidences. His autobiography is a great overview of all that he has done and leaves me with awe and a desire to see and understand the world beyond what I have been taught.



2. An intriguing biography of Lilly's work in animal communication, brain research and flotation tanks.
   Much of his work is valuable and continues today in the form of NLP, meta states and human mental
   development.



3. After reading John Lilly's "The Scientist: A Metaphysical Autobiography," I have come to realize that drugs can indeed expand the mind. My own mind has expanded just by reading about John's far-out trips, and I didn't even need to take drugs myself! The danger in pursuing this course, however, is that the mind may expand so far past the current human consensus reality that those stuck in it will either find these ideals laughable or frightening. What is truly frightening though, is that no one can disprove the realities that John Lilly experienced while conducting his drug and sensory deprivation experiments.

   I discovered John's work through an extraordinary coincidence... [When I decided to research him again twenty years later] I found that he had left our reality for good only a couple of weeks before.... Although I did not know the man personally, I will miss him dearly, and the world will feel the void left in his wake. Goodbye John, and good luck.




4. Lilly lived close to my house in his final days and I read this book with particular interest. I was very disappointed. He seems to evince very little knowledge of modern parapsychology eg out of body experiences (a la Monroe) and his own "travels" and "contacts" seem to me implausible and more likely the outpourings of a deranged or drugged imagination than science. In all such areas the question of standards of evidence is key. I am not sure Lilly gave the matter any thought.



5. Lilly was one of the greatest scientists and pioneers on the limits of human possibility of modern times but after his death a collective amnesia has descended and his is now almost forgotten.
   
   Lilly was a generation (or more) ahead of his time. He is almost single-handedly responsible for the great interest in dolphins (which led to the Marine Mammal Protection Act in the USA and helped to found the animal rights movement). In 1958 he noted that the brains of elephants and cetaceans were larger than ours, that we should not abuse them and that it was one our most important projects to communicate with them. He invented sensory isolation tanks (at NIMH in 1954) and used them extensively with and without powerful psychoactive drugs at a time when it was thought that either the brain would shut down or one would go insane if external stimuli were eliminated.
   
   He created methods for implanting electrodes in mammal brains and was planning to do it to himself. He was one of the first to make serious use of computers in bioscience research and created the hardware and software to make the first attempts to communicate with dolphins. He self experimented with dangerous physiological investigations in high altitude medicine for the military during WW2, took LSD with dolphins and movie stars, submitted himself to the rigors of Arica training, and taught classes at Esalen.
   
   He was the first one to investigate the bizarre psychedelic ketamine, and his results (published in the two last chapters of his book `The Scientist`) are still the best data on the dose/effect relation of any psychedelic on one person. And all this happened before most of us were born!
   
   He had courage,honesty and integrity that is rare anywhere and almost nonexistent in science. His goal was to find the ultimate truth about everything and he went about as far as anyone ever has. He had little patience with the stupid and hypocritical games one has to play to fit into monkey society. Of course the reaction of the establishment was predictable. He left the NIMH and was never given any government or academic support for the last 35 years of his life. His paper and comments at a conference on sensory deprivation were removed from the published version. He was not invited to government sponsored symposia on dolphins(he had refused to help develop them as weapons), though he clearly knew more about them than anyone in the world.
   
   He liked to live and work on the edge and few could keep up with him, as this books make clear. If you have read some of his other books it will be much easier going. He was a pioneer in consciousness research and pushed the boundaries of our understanding of who we are and what we might become. Among other things he catalogs the various states reached by drugs, meditation, and isolation, tries to determine their significance, and suggests how to use them.
   
   As a result of all his research, especially his months of continuous hourly injections of ketamine, he became convinced that our ordinary reality was not the only one. During his trips he was often in communication with members of a civilization a 1000 years in the future. We all allow ourselves such experiences every time we watch a sci fi movie and sometimes it leaves us more than just amused, but when anyone meditates or takes a drug to do it we tend to discount the results. Lilly however, took it all seriously, and parts of his book explain why. Whatever our mind produces --by any means --only happens because our brains are programmed by our genes to make it possible. So it's at least plausible that any of these routes inward reveal fundamental aspects of what's possible for us in the future, or even for some other species elsewhere in the universe.
   
   If you find his scientifically based viewpoints irrational, consider that most people believe without evidence (really with abundant evidence to the contrary) in good and bad luck, in super beings living in space who rule the earth, in a place in spacetime where dead people go, in stars millions of light years away influencing their lives, and in ghosts, angels, witches, and gods that come to earth to inhabit statues that read our thoughts and violate all the laws of physics, chemistry and biology in order to help us personally.
   
   He describes his tank work (and lots more) in The Dyadic Cyclone, The Center of the Cyclone, and in Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer (1967) and other books and papers.
   
   This and his other books are pleas to examine your beliefs with an open mind.
   
   He defines metabeliefs as those about belief systems. He says that our simulations of reality (with meditation, isolation, drugs, computers) can provide access to other realities which may include the future, the past, or extraterrestrial. He refers to metaprograms as learning tools (symbols, programs, languages, ideas, models) which our central programs (mind or part of it) run all the time. Cognitive psychology did not really exist at the time he was most active and now we would likely call the central programs cognitive templates, modules or inference engines.
   He refers to self-metaprograms (or essences) as parts of the mind that program our experiences.
   
   Though he carried out an exhausting and dangerous program of self experimentation with psychedelics (what many now call entheogens), he did not believe they are a final or complete path to higher consciousness.
   However, as I reflect on this, I note that tens of millions have successfully explored their cognitive templates with psychedelics while meditation alone may have generated a few hundred thousand satoris and probably less than 1000 mystics of whom we know. It is also clear that psychedelics have led millions to meditation.
   
   He mentions the very psychedelic Revelations of St. John and understands that Jesus taught revelation from within-- ie, the same sort of self transcendence as Taoism and Buddhism. He discusses how we use drugs, sex, money, groups, war etc as substitutes for God. God as compassion, science, consciousness or superspace (the then current concepts of cosmology are explained and he imagines the universe collapsing and being reborn--very contemporary!). He discusses god in here vs god out there but notes that if it's out there then its a puzzle where math comes from. His experiences make him doubt that death is the end.
   
   He was very open to all ideas and his desire to consider all points of view makes some parts of his books rambling and a bit incoherent. He crams so many ideas on each page that there is easily enough in each to form the core of ten books or a lifetime of research and personal exploration. Among the blizzard of mind boggling ideas are: war is the resultof a future civilization using us for war games; we are god simulating himself, our interstellar rockets find intelligent machines that follow us back to earth and take over; government sponsored meditation classes, computers that control and monitor all communication and take control of civilization, our genes generate the illusion that we live in a certain and determinate universe; we are simulated by God or vice versa.
   
   Though he must have crossed paths countless times with Indian mystics and Buddhists,strangely, he was most influenced by an obscure American mystic named Franklin Merrell-Wolff--another remarkable figure now almost totally lost in time.
   
   Lilly was an extremely bright and highly rational person yet he became convinced of the reality of his extraterrestrial membership in a future civilization and he went into a 6 week depression after a ketamine trip in which they showed him the collapse of the universe.
   
   It was clear to him that the phenomena of the mind were capable of scientific study but this was quite heretical 40 years ago. What a great pity that he never delved into Wittgenstein's philosophy nor became acquainted with Osho!
   
   Some of his books like "The Scientist" end with reprints of some of his papers and poems.
   
   Someone should put all his writings plus photos and other memorabilia on a DVD!

5 comments about Nobel Prize Women in Science: Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries, Second Edition.

1. I was enthralled by this delightful, healing, and eye opening crediting over the wonder works of scientific endeavor made by woman--unsung heroines who did not flinch one bit from their true calling, what for all the drowning out and dumbing down of class ostracism inundating them and their sisters in their times. These Ladies are the truest measure of what is called a benchmark in the progress of humanity to wake up and rise to The Greatest Challenge: to free the mind, the spirit, the yoke of history's circumstance, to unite us in peace, recognition, respect, and unqualified defference to all who carry forth the Light. From my heart, Thank You Sharon Bertsch McGrayne! And for those for whom it is easier to quip, 'a woman's place is in the home, raising children and so forth....' I'll just add, we got BILLIONS of 'em.



2. Nobel Prize Women in Science is a superb collection of hour-long biographies of women who either won a Nobel Prize or worked on a project that won a Nobel Prize in science. The biographies are full of memorable vignettes and quotes and lucid explanations of the scientific discoveries. This reader found the book liberating because it debunked so many myths she had had about good scientists. This book makes great bedtime reading and excellent gifts for both men and women.



3. Why so few? This is the question which the author put on the first page of the book. More than 300 scientists have won the Nobel Prize since its establishment,however, only 10 of them are women. Why? Why have so few women won the Nobel Prize in science? Some people might say this small number could be evidence for old prejudices. But the author tried to find a different answer through this book. This book contains stories of 15 women scientists who won the Nobel Prize or had a critical role in Nobel Prize winning works. Although this book takes the style of a biography and also describes all the scientific details quite well, it is neither just a biography nor just a science book for general readers. It is more than both of them. These women scientists had gone through lots of difficulties. All of them had experiences of being rejected from the opportunity of receiving a higher education. Most of them had more than once been mistreated and disregarded of their abilities as well as their works. And some of them, such as Rosalind Franklin, still have not received the full credit which she deserves. One might say that all the scientists who did remarkable works had faced and overcome many kinds of difficulties. But these women had to carry the added burden of being "women scientists". So, as the author pointed, another question should arise when the book is finished. Why so many? Why have so many women challenged themselves with such difficult works in spite of all the obstacles? The answer is simple. They loved science. And, through this book, the readers will find a love and a understanding for these fearless women as well as their lover,science.



4. I found this book really excellent--I was coming at it from being a female scientist (chemist) myself. Good from beginning to end....no complaints!



5. McGrayne chronicles the discrimination faced by female scientists in the 20th century. Even by those who would eventually achieve the highest prize of the Nobel. She also includes biographies of a few women who never won the Nobel, but were acknowledged later by many to have merited it. Lise Meitner, of course. She was doubly disadvantaged. Being female and Jewish in Germany during the 1920s and 30s. The story of how Otto Hahn won the Physics Nobel shortly after World War 2 for work that he did jointly with her is well known to physicists.
   
   Jocelyn Bell's work on pulsars is also described. Bell's advisor would later garner the Nobel for this, though Bell made the crucial observations and deductions from those.
   
   Both these chapters can be exercises in frustration to a reader. Injustices that were never remedied. Though Bell is still alive, and so there is a chance that the Nobel committe might redress this oversight.

5 comments about Sky of Stone: A Memoir.

1. Sky of Stone, by Homer "Sonny" Hickam, is the sequel to his famous memoir, Rocket Boys, (October Sky). The story takes place in 1961, a year after his graduation from high school. Sonny, now eighteen, has just finished his first year of college at VPI, and is hoping to spend his summer with his mother in Myrtle Beach, lying on the beach, watching the girls go by, and dreaming about building rockets with Wernher Von Braun, the world famous rocket engineer. Out of the blue, his mother calls and says that he can't go to South Carolina; he to go back to Coalwood, West Virginia, the place he thought he was free from, to keep his father company. Sonny, shocked out of his socks, at first argues, but he eventually gives up knowing that he would not want to get on his mom's bad side. So, he heads up to Coalwood, filled with confusion pounding at his head. His father is a pretty stubborn man who can hold is own. Why would he need his company?
   Within the first few days of being in Coalwood, Sonny wrecks his father's car. In order to pay his father back for repairing the damages, Sonny has to do the one thing that he never dreamed he would do in this or any other life time: he joins the UMWA (United Mine Workers of America), which is the union for the Coalwood miners. He becomes a "track-laying man," one of the hardest jobs in the mining business. His father, completely enraged with this, as well as having the pressure of the Tuck Dillon case on his mind, threatens to cut off Sonny's college fund if Sonny doesn't stop working in the mines. Yet, Sonny, who is actually beginning to enjoy the hard work of being a miner, refuses.
   As the story goes on, Sonny slowly begins to find more and more information about the Tuck Dillon accident, and starts to wonder if his father might have actually killed Tuck. Sonny also has many other adventures during this experience of being a miner. He makes many new friends, some of whom give him very important advice and teach him life lessons; he meets a girl engineer who is older than he, and he starts to have feelings for. He also participates in a heated track-laying race with the other mining group.
   Sky of Stone, like Rocket Boys, is a beautifully well-written memoir, filled with such amazing images, you feel as though you are reading a novel. The fact that this is a true story about one man's experience is astonishing. Along with it being about Homer's life, it deals with the hardships of growing up, changing from a teenager into a young man, trying to find your place in the world, while dealing with reality and the new feeling of independence. Each page you read takes you further into this adventure, making you fall in love even more with the book. You feel as though you are with Sonny every step of the way, learning more and more from this new experience. Personally, having read October Sky, I love both books and think that Homer Hickam is great author. It is a wonderful book, for anyone, as it reflects on life and the many lessons it teaches us, "I knew then, as I faced the sky, that Coalwood would go on. Its buildings might be torn down, its mine closed, its people might even die, but Coalwood would persevere. There was something about this place that maybe, as the Reverend Richard maintained, God just liked. Coalwood had nothing to fear and I guessed I didn't, either. When I needed it, the old place of my boyhood would yet be there waiting for me with all its wisdom and purpose, if not in stone and wood and iron, then still in my memory and my heart. I closed my eyes and felt the rain against my face, and smelled the smoke of the defeated fire, and thought of Coalwood. Coalwood, as it was, and shall be. Coalwood my home. Coalwood forever." (354). As I got to the end of the book I felt as though I was looking back on memory, in awe and filled with respect. In conclusion, I think this is great book, and I highly recommend it to anyone.



2. A wonderful book that was not only an engaging story, but offered a glimpse into the life of West Virginia coal miners. Following on the heels of the "Rocket Boys" ( the book that inspired the movie "October Sky"), this book carries on the story of Rocket Boy and author Homer Hickam. You won't be sorry you read this book.



3. I read October Sky a week ago and then grabbed this one. I haven't read The Coalwood Way but after starting Sky of Stone, don't think it's necessary. This book continues where October Sky left off, and in many ways people are introduced in this book that were never mentioned in the first book. In manyways this book seems to be derived from all the notes taken out of the first book. Sonny's father's character comes to light in this book and we see the continued tension between father and son, and the son's reluctant growth into adulthood when he accepts (or is forced into) adult decisions for the first time.
   
   Homer is a year out of college and he's slowly learning that many of the naive things he experienced in boyhood are coming back to haunt him. Where we all read about the fame and success of the six Rocket Boys, we now find that they are scattered across the country in college. With Homer, the grades in the first year weren't anything out of this world, or anything indicative of an aspiring rocket scientist. Without reading October Sky this book may appear to be a mystery, and I recommend reading October Sky first before attempting this one.
   
   It is unfair to compare one book to the other, although I am doing it right now. What the first book was in childish charm, this one is with mature awakening. The writing style is still superb, the narrative flowing. The built-up to the plot, however, takes longer. The rocket scientist is no longer a rocket scientist in this book, and we find Homer Jr more of his father's son as a summer miner, exactly what he never wanted to be while in high school.
   
   There is much more sadness in this book. The focus is on the death of a miner at the mine that Sonny's father manages. This book is more of a country suspense than it is a happy-go-lucky story like October Sky is. I think that this change in tone was necessary because the first book was full of optimistic, youthful naivete.
   
   The problem with sequels and trilogies is that to understand the whole picture, all books must be read. I have now read two of the three and don't plan on reading the second book.



4. Just a great part 3 continuation of "The Rocket Boys", AKA: "October Sky". I could hardly put it down. I really enjoyed this book, too.



5. If you have read Rocket Boys, it's imperative you continue with Coalwood Ways and Sky of the Stone. All are wonderful reads with great life lessons. Sky of the Stone was my favorite of the three but they build on each other. I look forward to reading Red Helmet in February!

1 comments about Galileo: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions).

1. In this slim volume is packed the central thesis of one of the foremost students of Galileo:
   1) that Galileo was not a victim of the inquisition but rather the Aristotelean method of reasoning particulars of Science from theoretical ideas. Galileo thought that experience, measurability and prediction should be the guide. Grand ideas he left to the Church and philosophers. Perhaps he was a little too naive in assuming that the inquisition would leave him alone. But it was in the defence of Aristotle that the inquisition indicted him. Not mere religious intolerance (which of course there was plenty).

   The other observation was the in-fighting and jockeying inside the academic community for political and religious favour -- the competition for well-paying university seats was intense and Galileo was a direct victim of academics who ruthlessly pilloried him to gain favour.

   2) Galileo was no crusader directly challenging the power of the church. He in fact had many freinds as high-archbishops and even a was a personal friend of the Pope. His desire was never to challenge the church and the church only very reluctantly charged him with "teaching" the doctrine of Copernicus and Kepler.

   This is a great jumping off point for further studies on Galileo. I love this series.