1 comments about Rachel Carson: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies).

1. Most readers will know of "Silent Spring", however, this biography from the Greenwood series, is an apt and well formulated summary of the epitomy of the cirumstances that created Rachel Carson's legacy.
   It is a quick read that provides cursory insight. My only criticism is that the intensity that is the persona of Rachel Carson comes off somewhat languid and apolitical, although this is understandable in the intent of composing a brief biography. Highly recommended to accompany any high school student's project on the history of environmentalism, or on the naturalist movement.

5 comments about My First Summer in the Sierra.

1. John Muir was born in 1838 and at a young age emigrated from Scotland with his family to a Wisconsin farm. He escaped the hard labor of the farm and his father's backward Biblical obsessions by displaying great powers of visualization. From principles learned from books, he whittled and fashioned barometers, thermometers, clocks and other marvels from the barest of materials. But he repudiated his inventive genius, which could have made him rich, after an industrial accident left him temporarily blinded; and he took off for the wilderness to discover plants and the natural world.
   
   This book is a journal account of Muir's finding a place for himself in Yosemite after some dangerous wandering through the hazards of reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. It's a book of discovery. Although flocks of sheep like Muir's employer's were allowed to overrun backcountry meadows, and gold miners had ripped apart the lower river beds, the Sierras then were still a place that had many aspects that had not yet been explored or understood. The backcountry was much more vulnerable to exploitation (though in many ways less endangered) than today, but there was freer and unfettered access for one who sought out it's mysteries and wanted to learn. This book shows Muir's powers of visualization in his beginning to formulate the role that glaciers play in the formation of the landscape. No one at that time had come to a solid understanding of what had made Yosemite Valley. And, although it might seem quite clear in retrospect, it took a strong mind of one who up until that time had been adrift in the world, a wanderer who studied plants, to visualize his theories and make them known to the world.
   
   Anyone who has not experienced the Sierra first hand cannot really appreciate this book. There are lengthy and numerous descriptions of plants and animals, loving descriptions in Muir's fashion, that can only be understood by one who has reveled in the same places and likewise wants to examine all the details. It's not a purely intellectual appreciation. It's something felt with the whole body, with all the senses alive. Muir always writes of being drawn into Nature, of never turning back, as in the case of his foolhardy venture to the brink of Yosemite Falls, "I therefore concluded not to venture farther, but did nevertheless". There's also this kind of breathless anticipation of tomorrow- if only I will be given a chance to explore its fountains...



2. John Muir might be the finest author of the "naturalist" genre there ever was. This book is based on his field notes he wrote while he spent his first summer in the Sierra Nevada as a shepherd. He always seems to find the perfect words to describe all that he sees. He was the consumate observer of the natural world and this book is all that. It is a must read for anyone who ever wondered what his life was like, how the Sierra Nevada appeared in the late 1800s, and how he became America's savior of public lands.



3. I am going to resign from critiquing this book on a literary scale, and just say that I didn't enjoy this book for the same reason a couple others mentioned - its boring and repetitive. Maybe its because I'm not used to aimless - albeit eloquent -landscape descriptions, or maybe it's the fact that NOTHING happens for 264 pages, but reading this book felt more like a chore than an enjoyable reading experience. Case in point: Casual readers beware!



4. Gretel Ehrlich provides the introduction. It is noted that John Muir walked first, wrote later. In 1868 he was thirty years old and had walked a thousand miles. He was a seeker in self-exile such as D.H. Lawrence, Rockwell Kent, and Basho. Muir chronicles a rite of passage. The summer described began in June, 1869. Forty-one years later the account was pieced together.
   
   Muir worked for Mr. Delaney as a sheepherder. He had a St. Bernard dog as a companion. Mr. Delaney encouraged Muir to sketch and pursue his naturalist studies. He was to learn that sheep cannot be governed when hungry. Bushes are stripped. The sheep resemble locusts in their destructive potential.
   
   Two kinds of squirrels are evident, the Douglas and the California Gray. The wood rat is more like a squirrel than a rat. He bulds large striking looking houses. Sheep camp bread is baked in Dutch ovens. Descriptions of silver firs, Sierra juniper, yellow and sugar pines, Douglas spruce, sequoia, hemlock, and dwarf pines appear in the account of the summer. Nature is extravagant. The group follows the Yosemite trail.
   
   Mules flee from bears, and dogs want to. Bears are very shy. Indian patience is required to see them. Making sheep cross a stream is a challenge. Once one goes in, the others push in pell-mell. Lake Tenaya was named for one of the chiefs of the Yosemite tribe. Sierra mosquitoes are nearly an inch long. Sierra chipmunks are arboreal and squirrel-like. Grouse and woodpeckers are abundant in the vicinity of Mount Hoffman.
   
   On August third Muir found Professor Butler, his teacher at the University of Wisconsin, because, sensing his presence, John Muir made inquiries at the only hotel in the area and was directed to go to the Vernal Falls. Professor Butler and his party were astonished that John Muir found them.
   
   In times of hunger the dogs, men, and sheep are confronted with lions, leopards, wolves, hyenas, and panthers. The names of places are exciting and descriptive--Moraine Lake, Mono Desert, Soda Springs, Unicorn Peak, Cathedral Range, Tuolumne, Hetch-Hetchy Valley. Muir's self-directed studies in botany clearly account for some of the strengths of this nature narrative. In the end Mr. Delaney tells Muir he will be famous some day.The author describes himself as an incredible wilderness lover. September twenty second ended Muir's first excursion.
   
   The book is a marvel. Sketches and photographs are included and enhance the work.



5. This is an excellent, honest write. Muir reluctantly dictated this book while walking around a northern California estate. The wealthy owner of the estate loaned his secretary while Muir walked and talked and the secretary took dictation. Muir had the benefit of good editors. It is a great read because Muir is walking through forests while he recounts his first summer in the Sierra Nevada. We feel it through his eyes.
   
   Muir's later writing efforts came hard, with much editing and rewrites. He worked in his "scribble den" in Martinez with "lateral, terminal and medial moraines of paper arranged about the room ready to cascade forth and bury him."
   
   The original manuscripts show much of the book was written in pencil, with at least five editings (Muir made corrections and alterations). Graham cracker crumbs are embedded in the paper (Muir ate while he worked. Eating graham crackers is a carry over from his student days at the University of Wisconsin).
   
   This is the genuine John Muir, fresh, crisp, articulate (okay, his descriptions can be a bit wordy at times) and alive with a child-like fascintation for learning and inspiration.
   
   I own an original first edition copy with the dust cover and gold leaf on the hard bound cover. I reread the book from time to time. What a great story.

5 comments about J. Robert Oppenheimer: And the American Century.

1. I was disappointed to find nothing in this work I hadn't already read in several other Oppenheimer biographies. Dr. Cassidy seems to have taken upon himself the mantle of chief apologist for Dr. Oppenheimer, dismissing any and all evidence for his leftist connections while consistently leveling equally specious charges against his accusers. In short, if you want fresh insights into this complex personality you will be disappointed. If, however, you share Dr. Cassidy and Dr. Oppenheimer's political bent, you should find this a rewarding read.



2. The life of J. Robert Oppenheimer is one of great mystery and fascination. His role in the development of the atomic bomb and his subsequent role in shaping America's nuclear policy, as well as his rise and fall during McCarthy has been the subject of countless books. David Cassidy, Hofstra University professor, has written an excellent account of Oppenheimer's life and the development of theoretical physics in America during the early part of the 20th century. The parallelism between the life of Oppenheimer and the rise of American science is an intriguing tale that is captured in this book.
   
   This biography is a detailed and beautifully written work. Cassidy expands beyond the traditional scope of a biography and expertly explores the surrounding environment that shaped Oppenheimer's life. He draws upon previously untapped primary documents, and shows the importance and character of Oppenheimer's early education on the rest of his life. Cassidy examines the conflicts between Oppenheimer's liberal education from the Ethical Culture School and the culture that he found at Harvard. Oppenheimer's time in Europe is also recounted.
   
   The book does not become overly focused on the Manhattan Project, but covers the time on "The Hill" in enough detail to keep the story in context. He instead offers insights to the periods before the war, when Oppenheimer taught at Berkeley and Cal Tech. Oppenheimer's genius and ability to inspire his students is shown, allowing us to gain insight into the man before the events that would be the foundation of his legacy.
   
   The 1954 Atomic Energy Commission security review that disgraced Oppenheimer, and stripped him of his security clearance for alleged "red ties," are explored with the same thoughtful insight. Recent documents and information regarding those events are thoroughly and conclusively discussed.
   
   Oppenheimer: and the American Century is a welcome addition to the history of science. (by atomicarchive.com)



3. Oppenheimer was born to a wealthy family in NYC. The family owned a fabulous estate and yacht on Long Island. He wrote poetry prior to later in life achieving greatness in physics.
   
   He went to Harvard and later received his doctorate in theoretical physics overseas. He taught at Cal Tech and Berkeley prior to joining the Manhattan Project during World War II.
   
   The biography then covers the period during the 1940s when Oppenheimer was a principal in the development of the atomic bomb and the dropping of 2 atomic bombs on Japan.
   
   Following the war the USA entered the cold war era. Overnight, nuclear physicists became heros. They had won the war. He was a top scientist on the leading government scientific committees in Washington.
   
   Next, Oppenheimer and other scientists were opposed to building the Super, the hydrogen bomb. However, about a month later on the advice of Teller and others President Truman ordered that the hydrogen bomb be built.
   
   This biography explains how later in life Oppenheimer was denied his security clearance due to his opposition to the building of the hydrogen bomb.



4. In 'J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century', acclaimed biographer and writer David C. Cassidy (Author of the highly readable 'Uncertainty: The life and science of Werner Heisenberg') spins a riveting and extremely interesting tale which puts this great man in context, in the middle of a century that witnessed great upheavals. In these, he was the observer as well as the participant. The most striking general scientific paradigm of the century, apart from the revolutions that were breathing new life into the fabric of the cosmos and of life, was the beginning of 'big science'. It was also the beginning of the 'American century' as we know it, spurred on by the advent of science and technology, and the fortuitous happenstances that the unfortunate act of war brought upon this country. People like Oppenheimer were right in the middle of this prophetic change. Although this particular subject with specific reference to Oppenheimer has been tackled in a disconnected way in many of his other biographies and books, Cassidy is probably the first one to weave the man and his times together into a coherent and insightful whole. In many ways, Oppenheimer defines the scientific and moral personality at the heart of those times. In a way, 'Science' and 'Morality', both in a general way provide a good description of the time that was the twentieth century.
   
   Growing up in New York, Robert attended the Ethical Culture School, a school whose strikingly moral looking philosophy believed in the inherent importance of ethics and the noble constraints of morality aimed at the betterment of mankind, independent of creed and religion. However, this institution was torn between the dictums of morality and the callings of practicality when war broke out in Europe. It had to reconcile itself with the Wilsonian Ideal of 'the morality of the victors'. Cassidy lucidly depicts this institution, and the changes which forced it to revisit its professed philosophy, something which has been rarely seen in detail elsewhere. Young Robert was also affected by this philosophy, and later on, coupled with the austere messages from the Bhagavad Gita which he read, it turned his personality into a strange and at many times, tortous, conglomerate of right and wrong.
   
   In the 1920s, Oppenheimer was most fortunate, and well poised to participate in perhaps the greatest revolution that science had seen, the twin package of quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity. In those days, the focus of scientific excellence was in Europe, with Copenhagen, Cambridge and Gottingen being the greatest centers of learning in the world. There, people like Niels Bohr, Ernest Rutherford, Arnold Sommerfeld and Max Born were training an entire generation of outstanding physicists and chemists, and Oppenheimer was fortunate to be one of them. However, war leaves its deep and far reaching scars, and as the shadow of totalitarianism extended across this magnificent continent, the reins of science became free to be harnessed by men and women who were causing ripples in the scientific world. The practical mindedness and 'can-do' spirit of the American psyche first became apparent in those times. A country that was struggling with depression slowly but surely rose to the cause. The foresight and action that has always characterised American science and business first emerged during those times. Foundations like the Rockefeller foundation started sending promising young men to Europe to quarry in the exquisite knowledge that was being created there. These men and women came back to their country, with a determination to make it second to none in science. Universities forged alliances with industry, unheard of amounts of money started to be donated by wealthy philanthropists for scientific research. The University became the archetypal epitome of discovery and scientific freedom. Men like Oppenheimer and his colleague, Ernest Lawrence, were among the initiators of this wave of technological excellence that can be seen today. Everything suddenly became big; 'big science', 'big machines', like Lawrence's magnificent cyclotron, 'big money', and big America. Cassidy profiles this period of unprecedented progress very well.
   
   Then came war. First and foremost, it brought the United States a windfall of the most brilliant scientists of the time; Enrico Fermi, Hans Bethe, John Von Neumann, Edward Teller, and the biggest fish of them all, the austere sage Albert Einstein. As someone said, 'The Pope of Physics has moved'. His home became the new Vatican of physics. All of these great men and women came to their adopted country to escape the ravages of racial discrimination and fanatic nationalism initiated by Hitler and Mussolini. Europe, as they knew it, was on the wane. Their beloved continent was never to be what it was before. On the other hand, they had arrived in the new land of opportunity. American science would start booming, and American leaders of science would be ecstatic. A whole group of 'scientific managers' (another creed that would be the legacy of big science) took the administrative responsibility of steering their country's scientific resources, in their hands. Among these were Robert Millikan and Arthur Compton, both Nobel Laureates, Vannevar Bush, a close confidant of Roosevelt, and James Bryant Conant, president of Harvard. They made sure that research was well-funded and scholarships were doled out to bright young people without reservations. Promising American men and women of science would no longer have to leave their nation in order to become scientific apprentices at the meccas of learning. They could now rely on their own leaders, extraordinary men who were poised for breakthroughs in science and technology. Undoubtedly leading this remarkable generation, at least in physics, was Robert Oppenheimer. Under his tutelage and guidance at the University of California, Berkeley, America's best physicists now had a home of their own, and a father figure whom they idolized. Almost every theoretical physicist of the time who later went on to high deeds, sometime trained under Oppenheimer.
   
   Then came war, and ironically, it brought the United States good tidings, at least in the beginning. More brilliant emigres. And more money to fuel the great machine of technological progress. War production suddenly galvanized into action all that work force that had laid dormant during Depression times. The United States had become the most resource rich and advanced nation in the world. All that 'big science' that had begun could now be put to good use. As if being called to such a cause, an event came to the notice of scientists, one that would change America and the world forever. Fission, and then Pearl Harbour gave an impulsive and unforseen impetus to the nation's scientific and political establishment. The rest is history. Oppenheimer became the head of the world's most top secret laboratory. The war amassed the American work force and capital power as never before. The most expensive project in history produced the most destructive weapon the world had ever seen, obliterating entire generations in a heartbeat. Although it ended the war, it stirred up many more problems and questions than it had solved or answered. Politics had finally become inextricably enmeshed with science, another legacy of the American century. America was a superpower now, although the threat of communism would always be a thorn, in no measure small, in her side. The state of the times was also driven home when Oppenheimer had his security clearance taken away by men from the Government having a perverse sense of patriotism, another instance of the unfortunate but permanent amalgamation of politics and science.
   
   Cassidy's book portrays this century well. It WAS an American century, there is no doubt about that. It changed many things forever. Scientific research would no longer be the same, requiring and engendering intense competition between giant institutions for unheard of funds, a trend that is all too obvious today. It also produced technology that we have yet to psychologically come to terms with, and maybe never will. And it raised eternal and tortous questions of morality that continue to be harrowing. Robert Oppenheimer, in a way, epitomized all of this, many times as an initiator. He and his avuncular predecessor Niels Bohr, both struggled to cope with the paradoxical nature of the most destructive weapon that would possibly end all wars. It did not turn out to be that simple, though, as the years showed, and we permanently became mortals walking a devious precipice. Oppenheimer's brilliance, versatility, and moral persona put him in a position where he could influence the world around him, and he did. But he raised many many questions that he would grapple with till the end, regarding the complex and deep repurcussions which his science had produced in the form of a terrible weapon. Because of his unusual intelligence and foresight, he was in a unique position to be a part and a questioner of those important times. The American century, inspiring as it is, is also sobering. Oppenheimer's life is a telling representative of the problems that we have solved in our quest for scientific as well as moral truth, and the many more new problems that we have created. Most importantly, Cassidy's book and Oppenheimer's life both tell us that whatever else happens, we must never cease to explore.



5. How does one trump a tour de force? Not easily. I greatly admired Cassidy's biography of Heisenberg in which he displayed great sensitivity for his subject, his work, and his times, not an easy task for the complex world of early quantum physics held against the backdrop of Germany's self-destruction. I therefore approached Oppenheimer and the American Century with gusto. Unfortunately, Cassidy has a `problem with Oppenheimer which he did not have with Heisenberg; he detests the man. Consequently, his book contains a disoncerting assortment of irritated criticism and faint praise.
   
   Cassidy takes Oppenehimer to task on a number of points: That he was a snob, that he was fickle, that he was aloof, that he was cowardly, and that he failed to realize his potential as a physicist, to name a few. In fact, Oppenheimer only succeeds after he has been skewered at the hands of the Gray committee. He then enters- and only just- Cassidy's hagiography. Moreover, Cassidy holds Oppenheimer to modern academic standards which include a healthy disdain for government in all its manifold guises. For example, while it may be fair to criticize Oppenheimer for not having been more vociferously opposed to the H-bomb, can Cassidy really fault him for having run the Mnahattan project at a time when Hitlerism threatened to engulf the world? Is it fair to assume that the war against Japan could have been won without the A bombs and still have avoided staggering losses?
   
   Cassidy also minimizes the fear generated by Stalin's usurpation of all eastern European governments save Yugoslavia. He has ostensibly forgotten that Stalin was a bona fide madman who had eliminated at least 20 million of his own people. Casidy suggests instead that there was an equation of sorts between the USSR and USA. I am not interested in apologizing for the lunatic extremes of McCarthyism, but I do think that one ought to look at the whole picture and not just those parts one wants to see.
   
   All in all this is a lackluster performance strewn here and there with occasional discussion about Oppenheimer's science and very little more about the man. Cassidy wants to berate Oppenheimer more than comprehend him. Oppenheimer may not have become all that he might have and he may have been riddled with flaws. All the more reason to grasp the essence of the man.

5 comments about The Heretic in Darwin's Court: The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace.

1. Ross Slotten's new biography of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) continues where others have left off. There has now been at least one full-length biographical study of Wallace published each year since 2000, plus several anthologies and other works. Clearly, Wallace is starting to "get his due." But there is yet much to do, and this latest biography demonstrates this point well.
   
   Slotten is an amateur investigator, and this work was obviously a labor of love. But he's put a good deal of effort into his study, along the way uncovering new archival sources that shed further light on Wallace's many contacts over his long life. So, the reader will find further new things here, even if he or she has already digested the recent excellent studies by Peter Raby, Michael Shermer, and Martin Fichman. Slotten writes well, provides enough historical context to keep things interesting, and only occasionally is factually inaccurate (for example, in some of the chronology he offers for the period of Wallace's adoption of spiritualism, circa 1865-1866).
   
   On the other hand, his efforts sometimes cross over into ill-advised opinion and elaboration. One thing he plays a bit too much on is Wallace's status as an outsider to the intellectual community of his time: the "poor Wallace" line (in relation to his dealings with Darwin, and everyone else). Actually, though Wallace was in fact an outsider, the real story of his life is how little such matters seemed to affect his thought process: when it came to the world of ideas, he was just about as fearless a thinker as we have had. Slotten does a rather poor job of exposing this side--the really important one--of Wallace, and to this extent does just about nothing to expand our knowledge of his world view past the status quo.
   
   But for someone as unusual as Wallace, one cannot ask for everything at once. We should be happy for a well-written, well-researched, and admirably detailed accounting of a very interesting man's life, and continue to hope that future treatments will reach more and more into just what made Wallace tic, and how we in our time can make use of that information.



2. The place of Wallace in the rise of modern evolutionary theory and its confusions is always a contentious one, and the record shows the persistent, but let us hope, not permament distortion of the facts of the case. The record should show that Wallace produced the first version of what Darwin later got credit for. It's that simple, and any honest profession would move to correct the injustice. But not here, the stakes are too high, and the agenda too ambitious to allow that to happen.
   
   The facts speak for themselves and all biographers tend to 'fumble' the ball here. No fumble at all, it is a fixed necessity of compromise with the Darwin propaganda machine. Let us grant the excesses of some claims that Darwin plagiarized Wallace. Even so the sleight of hand pulled off by Darwin and his gang as to the Ternate paper should be a minimum charge against the paradigm dogmatists here.
   This useful and always interesting new biography of Wallace, in a recent slew of such, manages reasonably well to navigate the fudge that occurs here in all cases except those in the wake of Brackman's A Delicate Arrangement which attempted an expose of the great cover story here.
   In many ways, this issue of Darwin's rigged priority apart, this is one of the best of the genre and fills in a lot of gaps, especially as to the later Wallace with his ventures into spiritualism. Current scientism finds spiritualism silly superstition. No doubt this is the case, but the false reductionism of Darwinism in action is no less silly and totally fails to grapple with the far greater complexity of man known for millennia. It dawned on Wallace that the methodology emerging couldn't possibly constitute a theory of man's evolution and the way it has totally amputated its subject matter in the regime of brainwashing that has taken over the subject. In a context where to even mention a Buddhist sutra is to be called an irrationalist the true 'evolutionary psychology' of man has become almost a taboo subject. These tactics will come to a bad end sooner or later, and at that point the dissent of Wallace on the evolutionary emergence of man will come into its own again against the false reputation of that iconic imposter, Charles Darwin frantic for his priority at the receipt of the Ternate letter.



3. The story of Darwin's voyage around the world in the Beagle is well known. He used his observations and the time (you have a lot of time on a sailing ship) to develop the basics of the theory of evolution. After his return to England, he wrote up his findings but did not publish them.
   
   Wallace spent a long time making similar observations, but was haunted by ill fortune. For instance his collection of specimens laboriously collected was being shipped to England when the ship they were on caught fire, and the specimens were lost.
   
   Wallace's thoughts though were running along similar lines with that of Darwin. When he was getting ready to publish people told Darwin that his theories were about to be published by Wallace. Darwin then rushed his theory into print and now the theory is Darwin's theory rather than Wallace's theory.
   
   What isn't very well known is that Darwin and Wallace were able to then work together for many years to further develop the theory. Perhaps a better name would be the Darwin-Wallace theory.
   
   This is a very well written addition to the literature and Dr. Slotten's obvious dedication comes through.



4. This is by far the best of several recent biographies of Wallace. As a biographer myself, it is hard for me to grasp how Dr. Totten, as a physician, ever found the time to do the meticulous research for this book. While it contains a wealth of end notes, the narrative does not make difficult reading. The author does not insert his own biases in his treatment of the portion of the book that deals in Wallace's spiritualiam.



5. An artfully written, rigorously researched, deeply compelling exposition of a most remarkable human life. It is a travesty that the modern world has nearly forgotten Mr. Wallace. Mr. Slotten has done a great service to history with this important book.

No comments about Misadventures of A Scientist's Wife.

1 comments about King of the Road. From Bergen-Belsen to the Olympic Games.

1. This is a fascinating tale of having been persecuted as a child for no reason other than being Jewish, to successes and victories on the battlefield, in the academe, and in olympic class sport. Ladany provides an insider's view of the pains and tribulations associated with struggle for success in each of these endeavors.

3 comments about Living Your Dream.

1. Living Your Dream is a book with something most unusual: a combination of practical information about a delightful animal (the Icelandic horse)with storytelling sequences as inventive as any myth or legend. The reader who both practices animal husbandry and enjoys a touch of the magical (we are not all that rare, by the way) will enjoy double-dipping. The many illustrations make it clear how well-adapted these horses are biologically as well as how inspirational they must be upon acquaintance.

   Living Your Dream is written in a consummately modern spirit. In the age of hypertext (the kind of point-and-click-on-what-you-want-to-see-now programming upon which the WWW is based), this book fits right in. The reader can segue between realistic stories of actual horse treks or ranching and story sequences highlighting the spiritual aspects of the Horse archetype in creation mythology. Or, the reader can sample a bit of each but mainly go crazy over all the photographs. Or read the creation story straight through, and then the narrative about the modern-day Icelandic Horse. Etc. In other words, this is a book laid out so you can custom read it, a book in which people/families with different or overlapping interests and reading styles can easily find something to share.

   The attribution of authorship to one of these remarkable horses, Gletta, may be viewed in a number of ways. This reviewer is simply impressed by the nature of the bond that is possible between the Icelandic horse and the human, as experienced and chronicled by Gletta and Elisabeth Haug. Living Your Dream is truly an uplifting book. We need more uplifting books at this point in human history. Well done, Gletta and Elisabeth. -- Meredith J. Merritt, MLS




2. This book is a breath of fresh air! It is a flowing tale of friends and soulmates. Living Your Dream makes you take a step back and look at your own situation through its kaleidoscope of knowledge. Your mind will wind through fact and fiction, finally weaving the two into a blanket of serenity. A must read!



3. I took a chance on this book but I did not enjoy it. I feel that it is much more suitable for juveniles than grown adults. Some of the descriptions are nice but if you are looking to understand horses, the horse's mind, and your own life's path, there are many, many other books around better suited to the purpose.

No comments about Strange Blooms: The Curious Lives and Adventures of the John Tradescants.

1 comments about Linus Pauling, Scientist and Peacemaker.

1. +++++
   
   This is a centenary biography that commemorates the hundredth birthday of Dr. Linus Carl Pauling (February 1901 to August 1994). He was the only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes.
   
   This book has a number of good features:
   
   (1) THE EDITORS' HONESTY. This slim book, as the editors state in the preface, does not do "complete justice to Linus Pauling's enormous life work" but is intended to give readers an "intriguing taste of his interests and accomplishments."
   
   (2) THE GOOD AND BAD. Be aware that this book not only has contributions from Pauling's friends, colleagues, and former students but also has contributions from his detractors and those who thought he was over-stepping his scientific boundaries.
   
   (3) ARTICLES. This is not your typical narrative biography! It is divided into four parts and the first three parts is a series of articles. (I use the word "article" loosely to mean an essay, a chronology, diary excerpts, interview transcript, public speech transcript, letter, Nobel lecture transcript, book excerpt, journal excerpt, or television transcript.)
   
   Articles are written in the first person by Pauling himself or in the third person by others. Before each article is a small italicized paragraph written by the editors. The purpose of this is to put each article into proper context with respect to time, place, and importance.
   
   (4) THE BOOK'S STRUCTURE. This book has four parts titled as follows:
   
   (i) "The Man." It presents the personal side and overall personality of Pauling. It consists of nine articles, five of which were written by Pauling at various times in his life. Note that Pauling had a wife named Ava Helen and four children.
   
   (ii) "The Science." It details the scientific genius of Pauling. It consists of twelve articles, six written by Pauling. These science articles are not difficult to follow. Pauling won the 1954 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Specifically he won it "for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances."
   
   (iii) "The Peace Work." It discusses Pauling's anti-nuclear peace work. It consists of six articles, all of them written by Pauling. Pauling won the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize "for his efforts to end open-air testing of nuclear weapons."
   
   (iv) "Facets." It gives us various brief snippets of Pauling in the form of historical reminiscences or short anecdotes not only written by Pauling but by others (such as family members, friends, and colleagues). There are over forty of these that were written or said during his lifetime or after his death.
   
   (5) PICTURES. Over eighty are peppered throughout the book. When I say pictures, I mean black-and-white photographs; sketches; and reproduced, readable notes, manuscripts, letters, and textbook covers. There's even a reproduction of the Paulings' famous and controversial nuclear weapon's petition!
   
   (6) MARGINALIA. In the margins of the book, there are short anecdotes (shorter than those mentioned in the "Facets" section above). These are based on taped interviews with colleagues and contemporaries. There are over thirty of these scattered throughout the book.
   
   (7) BIBLIOGRAPHY. Finally there is a useful selected bibliography. It consists of a significant list of articles written by Pauling and important books written by him. (My favorite book written by him is entitled "How to Live Longer and Feel Better" (1986).) There is also a list of books and articles written about Pauling.
   
   One of my favorite articles was in the science part. This article details the race to find the structure of DNA. According to Pauling, Dr. Rosalind Franklin's scientific work and X-ray photographs (which he never had access too) were the key that unlocked DNA's double helix structure.
   
   In conclusion, if you want a multi-dimensional portrait of a two-time Nobel Prize winner who was the recipient of numerous awards and medals and, as well, for those who want a unique reading experience where you can form your OWN picture of this brilliant man, then peruse this fascinating book.
   
   +++++

5 comments about Linus Pauling in His Own Words: Selections From his Writings, Speeches and Interviews.

1. i hope that everybody who read this book realy deeply,could understand the true meaning of the two times noble price winner wich is gathered and explained in a very easy to follow,and the real messages that he explined in this super-book!this book reflects his total life-history, philosophy,orthomolecularly,and the real man as a human.very interesting book, and highly recommanded.



2. Book is about more his professional life more than his private life. After very short introduction his scientific life story is told through abbreviated sayings, speeches of his own. Since most of the text is from his speeches and abstracts you get a lot of his opinions and comments on various subjects including use of atomic power.



3. Linus Pauling is the only person to date to win two unshared Nobel Prizes in science. His researches were in a wide variety of areas including nuclear science, genetics, molecular biology , X-ray chrystallography, mineralogy, physical chemistry.
   The most valuable parts of his memoirs are his descriptions of his own scientific work and discoveries.
   Pauling's motto was " Never put your trust in anything but your own intellect" and he was a tremendously independent researcher, and thinker.
   His reputation and his great work were in science, but he also thought out loud and independently on political and health subjects.
   I remember hearing him talk years ago at Harpur College in Binghamton New York. I was expecting to hear him talk about his scientific work and discoveries. Instead he went on endlessly about Vitamin C as a cure to all our health problems. Yes, Pauling along with being a pioneering intellect and scientist was a crank also.
   His crankiness had its political side in his Pacifism , a pacificism which led to his being accused of being a fellow traveler.(i.e.Communist ).
   In fact the idea that nuclear war is insane is one of the most sane ideas imaginable. But equating the US and the late Soviet Union as Pauling often did was mistaken and wrongheaded.
   Above all it is best to think of Pauling as a scientist. The enthusiasm he had in exploring nature is felt throughout this work.
   He believed himself and other scientists fortunate in that he thought scientists could appreciate and enjoy so much more of the world than others.
   He was a true American original , a pioneer researcher at the highest level, and not without a certain sense of humor.
   This book may not bear a cover- to - cover reading but whoever looks and searches in it will find much material for the investigating human soul.



4. This book is a good introduction into the world of Linus Pauling, a most fascinating person; rather than tell his story for him, Barbara Marinacci allows him to tell his own story. For those, who have already read a good biography or good biographies of him, this book contains no surprises.
   
   All the same, it certainly is inspirational and worth reading.



5. Linus Carl Pauling is regarded by many as the premier chemist of the twentieth century. Pauling received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his campaign against above-ground nuclear testing, and is the only person to win two Nobel prizes that were not shared with another recipient. The other people who have received two Nobel prizes are Marie Curie (physics and chemistry), John Bardeen (both in physics) and Frederick Sanger (both in chemistry). Later in life, he became an advocate for greatly increased consumption of vitamin C and other nutrients. He generalized his ideas to define orthomolecular medicine, which is still regarded as unorthodox by conventional medicine. He popularized his concepts, analyses, research and insights in several successful but controversial books centered around vitamin C and orthomolecular medicine