5 comments about Dark Hero of the Information Age: In Search of Norbert Wiener The Father of Cybernetics.

1. When I first saw the title "Dark Hero of ...." I had to chuckle with the image it engendered of Norbert, dressed in a floppy Batman constume, goutee, thick glassed over his mask which of course hid his identy waddling down the corridors of Building 2, fighting crime in Tauberian Theorems.
   
   The authors wrote a magnificent opus on a great man who, in today's environment, would have been classified as a victim of child abuse. Their facts and presentation carried me back to that era. But, I am uncomfortable with the intensionality that the term 'Dark' might leave in the reader so grant me the right to give an added facet.
   
   
   As a senior at MIT during the 1959-1960 semesters I had the honor working with Weiner. Up front, my review arises from an unabashed gratitude and affection for a man whose influence and help were instrumental for all the good things that later transpired in my life over the last 45 years.
   
   One day in the fall of 1959 I was walking near Weiner's office after having come out of Dirk Struik's office from a discussion of an item in the Advanced Tensor Analysis course I was taking from him. Just as I was passing by his office the classical Norbert Weiner yelled out " young man, can you come in and finish the calculations on the board". Honestly, I was totally naive and did not know anything about him except having seen him in the corridors.
   
   "Sure" I said. As I entered the office he walked out. There on the dusty chalk board were a facsimile of a spread sheet, with rows of numbers scribbled across the board. I could not admit that I had no idea what the numbers represented, let alone what I was to do. Ego is a wonderful goad for creative problem solving. Seeing a number that looked like the sine of 30 degrees I quickly deciphered that the alternating lines were discrete values of the sine function, the parallel lines were filled with some varying numbers from a seemingly smooth function, and the next line looked like some multiplication/ addition of both. Norman Levinson's course in Complex Anaylsis came to the rescue. Weiner was performing a discrete fast Fourier Transform. Ten minutes later Weiner came in and saw that I had almost completed the spread sheet.
   
   Looking over his glasses he asked "What are you doing here?". "Helping you, Professor" I responded, startled. "Can you come back tomorrow for some more work?" "Sure"
   
   It turned out that he was perfroming a spectral analysis on a section of EEG readings Dr. John Barlow had given Weiner.
   I eventually had to hand read the red graph and number the amplitudes. The picture appears in CYBERNTETICS 2nd edition.
   
   One Saturday he directed me to "sit down and write". After a few lines I had the timerity to inquire what the heck was I doing.
   His answer: "I'm dictating the upgrade to my book CYBRENETICS". My mistake was to inform him that I could touch type. Zap! Three hours later I threw in the towel. From then on, after math classes I would be sitting typing and learning more ideas and mathematical insight than any of the past 3.5 years. Note, no word processor, no electric type writer. The old fashioned finger toughening for Karate thrust kind.
   
   My many mistaken sheets were then handed over to Weiner's secretary who produced a finished draft.
   
   When the galleys came out I, among many others, reviewed and corrected them.
   
   Weiner informed me that he considered "his students as colleagues" and he gave me the honor and respect that it entailed.
   I noticed over the years that the truly great and self assured, including Doc Edgerton in Electric Engineering, treated with respect f those 'under' them. The not so great and their undeserved pomposity are legion in all walks of life.
   
   A few vignettes of his Puckish sense of humor which were seen quite often are in order.
   
   One Saturday, Weiner, who had to check his urine for sugar, came into the office to check it. "Good, all is well", he smiled, "Here, take it and dispose of it".
   
   My response was as brash as anything I had ever done "Prof. Weiner, I have the deepest respect for you. I have had my rump fall asleep while tying your manuscript for hours. But, you take your G.. D....d sample yourelf"
   
   Weiner burst out in laughter "Well, I tried." and waddled off. I just keeled over with laughter.
   
   Weiner was subject to many folks who came to 'worship at his feet' and try to have him help on hair brained schemes.
   Once such soul came in one day and proceded to blather. Norbert rose, took him by the elbow with a "I know someone who will really be able to help you", and dumped into Struick's office. From across the hall we heard Struik's Dutch yelling, while chasing the man out. Then, flushed faced, Dirk leaned into the office and hissed "Norbert, stop dumping your garbage into my office!" , and popped out. Norbert broke into a loud chuckle, looke at me, and just smiled.
   
   
   
   
   A few years later Mrs. Weiner called and told me that Norbert was in Mass.General as he had fallen down and done serious damge to himself. I overcame my deep antipathy to hospitals and took my self over.
   She informed me that the Professor was in a bad way and Prof. Lee had just left, totally depressed at seeing his mentors state. She told me not to stay too long but to see if I could get him to respond.
   Entering his room, I heard Norbert moaning, leaning away from the door. How the wonderful inspiration came to me I have never figured out.
   
   As I walked to his bed , in my most stentorian voice, I said "What 14 carat plated phoney!" He moaned, tried to turn, and went back to moaning.
   "There is nothing wrong with you. I know you well enough to know that you faking it, just to avoid being drafted".
   
   Much as he tried not to, he let out a loud laugh. I continued "I bet you are pestering all the doctors like Barlow, that Fourier Anaylysis and Tauberian Theorems can solve all medical problems. They have to listen to you!"
   
   At that he slowly sat up, reached for his glasses and then went into a long story of how indeed he had such ideas, etc.
   
   Mrs. Weiner was clearly taken aback at my brashness and when Norbert sat up she did not know what to do. While happily pontificating Norbert said "Margaret, light up a cigar for me". She lit up one his 'stinkies', handed it to him, and Norber was on his way. Soon after Frau Professor chased me out but I was elated beyond words.
   
   That was the last time I ever saw Weiner but this wonderful book captured so many facets of this rare, great human,
   
   My gratitude. I was there
   
   John C. Kotelly MIT '60



2. Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman have put an immense effort into writing an exhaustive review of Norbert Wiener, one of the great geniuses of the last century. Wiener spoke an ungodly number of languages, got his PhD from Harvard at the age of 19, made immense contributions to mathematics, biology, computer sciences, medicine, political thought - even in McCarthy's heyday he had no qualms about speaking his mind -, etc, etc.
   
   As generally is the case with biographies of Wunderkinder, the authors ultimately are not equal to their subjects, not for lack of effort, but for lack of having the intellect necessary to understand and do justice to an über-prodigy. And so it is with this book; rather than to analyze and judge Wiener's various accomplishments and beliefs, which range from phenomenal scientific accomplishments to believing that he had been reincarnated, the authors prefer to "tell it as it was" and let the reader draw his or her conclusions.
   
   Despite these inevitable limitations, this book is well worth reading, albeit thoughtfully.



3. Dark Hero of the Information Age: In Search of Nortbert Wiener the Father of Cybernetics tells of an ex-child prodigy and MIT mathematician who founded cybernetics - and then spent the rest of his life warning the world of the consequences of the new technologies he helped foster. Surprisingly, his works and his warnings are relatively unknown today - despite the fact many of his concerns and predictions came true. Dark Hero of the Information Age recounts his life and discoveries - and the consequences of his discoveries.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. From a historical and economic and sociological perspective, this book is utter propaganda.
   
   For example, from page 340, "To date, India's engineers and entrepreneurs have had the most success following the path Wiener chartered for their country's advancement, and while their numbers are still small compared to the whole of their population, they are reaping many of the benefits Weiner envisioned without the drawbacks of older models of industrialization."
   
   WHAT A F--KING JOKE!!! I'm dying of laughter!
   
   There is categorically no relationship between India's newfound economic success and Norbert Wiener. None. Na-da. Nothing. Zip-0!
   
   And that was just a single sentence from this text. Just imagine what else lurks in 400 pages of writing from what are two absolute fools. Flo conway and Jim siegelman are the stupidest writers ever!



5. _Dark Hero of the Information Age: In Search of Norbert Wiener The Father of Cybernetics_ by the researchers Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, who had previously written on cults and fundamentalism, is a fascinating biography of an important figure in the history of the last century who played an important role in heralding in the coming age of information. Norbert Wiener (1894 - 1964) was a fascinating individual and a man of many talents who is perhaps best remembered as both a mathematician and the father of the science of cybernetics. Wiener was a highly eccentric individual who had been renowned as a child prodigy in his youth and studied at Tufts and Harvard from the ages of 11 to 14, eventually earning his Ph.D. at age 18. Following his early years, Wiener became an academic originally focusing on philosophy and mathematics, though taking a more applied bent towards mathematical research than some of his contemporaries such as G. H. Hardy, who routinely castigated him for this. Wiener's career took off at MIT where he developed the science of cybernetics, which was to play such an important role in furthering engineering, biological, and social sciences, as well as playing the role of an astute commentator on the role of automation. Cybernetics (a term derived from the Greek for "steersman"), the creation of Norbert Wiener, was an essential science in the understanding of feedback and control systems. Wiener continued to develop his theories following the publication of his first book on the subject and in particular examined the role of automation among workers. Wiener also was able to prove an inspiration for several important engineering projects focusing on such things as the human brain, artificial intelligence, and the development of prostheses for amputees. Wiener's ideas played an important role in the United States, but with the advent of the Cold War they also played a role in the Soviet Union, as well as in India where Wiener saw certain potential developments arising from newfound technologies. While Wiener was an agnostic throughout his life, his ancestors were Jews and he may have been related to the Jewish philosopher Maimonides, and he developed a profound interest in Indian philosophy and Hinduism ultimately leading him to accept the notion of reincarnation. Wiener's theories played an important role in paving the way for the information age to come and we see the end result of that in the information explosion in this century. This book offers a fascinating examination of the life of Norbert Wiener and is an excellent biography of this great man.
   
   This book starts with Wiener's early life, particularly as he developed into a child prodigy. The book begins with Leo Wiener, the father of Norbert Wiener, who was an adamant proponent of the ideals of Tolstoy and vegetarianism. Leo Wiener came to the United States and eventually made his way to Cambridge, Massachusetts where Norbert's talents for languages became widely known. Norbert Wiener became known as the "most remarkable boy in the world" and would attend university at Tufts and Harvard, originally specializing in zoology, along with other child prodigies such as William James Sidis. Following his Ph.D. at Harvard at the age of 18, Wiener traveled to Europe to study logic and philosophy with such individuals as Bertrand Russell. However, upon returning home, Wiener underwent somewhat of a crisis. Wiener, who was a lifelong manic depressive and prone to absent-minded spells and depressions, would largely see his emotional turmoil as arising out of his early youth. Wiener went on to join the faculty at MIT, an engineering school which hoped to promote a new mathematics department. Wiener made several important contributions and it was here that he developed his science of cybernetics. Wiener was known to all his students for his "Wienerwegs" or "Wienerwalks", where he frequently absent-mindedly roamed about the halls and campus of MIT. Wiener married and had two daughters. He also became involved with various other individuals and prodigies who tried to advance the science of cybernetics and the logical system developed by Russell in the _Principia Mathematica_. Wiener also was active in promoting the Macy conferences, where a diverse group of intellectuals including mathematicians, economists, social scientists, and anthropologists worked out the ideas of cybernetics. Wiener was deeply concerned about the role that automation would play in the coming era and wrote an important work focusing on the "human use of human beings" to show his concern over the new role of automation and computers. Wiener also wrote some more religious and philosophical works in which he attempted to address the problem of the "golem" from Jewish mythology as it concerned man and his creations. During the Cold War, Wiener refused to participate in research for the military and this led to his being branded a "Red" by the FBI. Wiener eventually was to travel to Europe and even the Soviet Union where he attempted to advance the science of cybernetics, although he made clear that he disapproved of the role of both superpowers in the Cold War. Wiener also knew the mathematician and Nobel Prize winner John Nash while he was at MIT. In his old age, Wiener took an interest in India and Hinduism. Wiener attempted to identify a new role for automation in India and the potentially liberating effects of such technologies. Wiener also traveled to Stockholm to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony and it was here that he died.
   
   This book offers an interesting account of the life of an important figure in the dawn of the information age. Norbert Wiener and his science of cybernetics played a great role in giving rise to the information age and the era of computing. While Wiener was certainly a man of many talents and contradictions, he also had a darker side to him as did the technologies made possible through his advances. It is for this reason that he may be seen as the "dark hero of the information age" and the father of cybernetics.

4 comments about True Genius: The Life and Science of John Bardeen.

1. I read the brief "Publishers Weekly" review for True Genius, as well as the more cryptic but more positive comments of others. From the very first sentence I knew that the "Publishers Weekly" review would be superficial, and maybe even wrong, which then is of what help to a reader and potential book customer? Living in the U.S. democracy, how can we not be curious and not read about the Founders? Similarly, how can we be immersed in all the new electronics (computers, cell phones, DVD and CD machines, MRI's, digital machinery---in fact, Si here, Si there, Si everywhere) and not be curious about how all this happened, what sort of ingenious mind, or minds, might be at the beginning of it all? Imagine the calamity on the planet if the transistor vanished for a day. Does that help in understanding the scale of a Bardeen, of "True Genius"! I knew John Bardeen for 40 years (as my teacher, friend, colleague) and still I learned something further from Hoddeson and Daitch and the material they unearthed for "True Genius", a fascinating biography (a different kind of story). Hoddeson and Daitch do not disappoint in their biography of Bardeen and in elucidating over many chapters his kind of genius, which "Publishers Weekly" doesn't seem to appreciate. Genius is a diamond of many facets, and Hoddeson and Daitch reveal a Bardeen facet. It isn't the last chapter of "True Genius" that matters. It's the whole book, all the chapters, that reveal an American hero---if you will, a genius.

   Nick Holonyak, Jr.
   John Bardeen Chair Professor of
   Electrical and Computer
   Engineering and Physics, and
   Center for Advanced Study
   Professor of Electrical and
   Computer Engineering
   University of Illinois
   Urbana, IL




2. John Bardeen was one of the most important and prolific physicists of the twentieth century, on par with the likes of Niels Bohr and Richard Feynman, but the general public hardly knows his name. In this eloquent and entertaining biography, Lillian Hoddeson and Vicki Daitch capture the true essence of this quiet, gentle genius. They bring forth aspects of the warm, genuiune man behind the science that gave humanity the transistor and solved the almost intractable problem of superconductivity. Bardeen was a giant of 20th century science, and "True Genius" is the definitive story of his life.



3. I should really write two reviews. One with a rating of four stars, and one with five. Then the average will be 4.5, which I feel is the right rating. I have only two complaints. First, the discussion of minority carrier injection was not clear to me. I went back to the April 1992 issue of "Physics Today." There, the discussion is done just right,the importance of holes is clear. Second, the issue of "genius" and it's identification and cultivation in chapter 17 did not appeal to me. In my opinion, if we were to conclude with a jumping off point from Bardeen's life, it would be to address the question "why is he so unknown today?" That would have been a good epilogue. It's a good question. In W. H. Cropper's book "Great Physicists: etc." Bardeen is not mentioned. A real shame. Bardeen easily ranks with the physicists in that book.

   But there really is so much to enjoy in this book. Although born in Wisconsin, and not Minnesota, Bardeen would have been so comfortable in Garrison Keillor's world. Bardeen seems straight out of Lake Wobegone and names like Clarence Bunsen and Florian Krebsbach kept coming to mind. Here was a loyal, moral, dedicated man, focused on his life and work, but needing few words to talk about it. Together with Brattain and Schockley (sort of), Bardeen invents the transistor, comes home to his wife, who is cooking dinner, and says to her, "we discovered something today." Wife Jane says, "that's great." After unraveling one of the greatest puzzles in all of physics, Bardeen says to Charles Slichter, "well, I think we've figured out superconductivity." Wonderful, News from Lake Wobegone stuff. (Hoddeson and Daitch's discussion of superconductivity is quite good, by the way.)

   But that's the fun part. In the physics world, there are so few Bardeens. Not just in terms of intellect, but also in terms of generosity, humility, broad and inclusive vision, and overall respect and like for colleagues. I particularly liked the relationship between Bardeen and Brattain. Some physicists can only work alone, but for those who prefer collaboration, finding a partner like Brattain makes every workday fun and exciting.

   Chapter 15 on Bardeen's work with charge density waves was also interesting, if dark. This chapter is an important lesson to those who believe science is the absolute collection of truths and facts. In reality, science is filled with that we do not understand and, as a result, consists of differing opinions and views, just like any other field. It was disheartening, but realistic, I feel, to read that disagreement can also include hurtful disrespect from colleagues/competitors, but Bardeen always maintained the highest levels of professionalism.

   It was also disheartening to read in the acknowledgements that Betsy Bardeen Greytak had passed away. ...P>Other than physicsits, I'm not sure what audience will appreciate this book. But it will be interesting for all those, like myself, who have read, enjoyed, and mostly understood the "popular" Richard Feynman books and biographies.




4. John Bardeen was one of nature's prodigies. After an academic career at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, Princeton and Harvard he wound up at Bell Labs where he co-invented the transistor, for which he eventually received a Nobel Prize. Having to deal with a notorious egomaniac of a boss at Bell Labs, who was intent on keeping him from making further discoveries, he fled to the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, where he found a life-long sinecure, and explained superconductivity, and eventually earned another Nobel Prize. Incidentally, the authors of this book both were or are affiliated with UIUC.
   
   The authors do a good job of describing a taciturn scientist and golfer who was much-loved and greatly respected as a person. Unfortunately, as with all biographies of prodigies, it generally is a foregone conclusion that the authors are not equal to the accomplishments of their subject. Even bearing this caveat in mind, I found the book to be a disappointment.
   
   I understood as much of Bardeen's seminal work explaining superconductivity after reading the book as I had before, and this was not for lack of attentive reading. This cannot have been because it is inordinately complicated; Bardeen had been wary of publishing his explanation of superconductivity because it was so simple that he felt he must be missing something.
   
   Similarly, the relevance of the transistor - the other discovery for which Dr. Bardeen won a Nobel Prize - is explained as the invention of a smaller vacuum tube which is of use in consumer electronics and hearing aids. That transistors could be, were and are, connected in such a way as to allow logical circuits, microchips and the internet to exist, doesn't get the mention it merits. On the other hand, there are ample references to the sociology of Nobel Laureates, Thomas Kuhn's theories about scientific advances, and even a 17 page epilogue or bonus material concerning theories about how prodigies come to be. On top all this, the dye used to color the hardcover version of this book rubbed off onto my fingertips.
   
   I enjoyed reading parts of this book, and hope that eventually other authors will write a more complete and informative book about a most interesting scientist.

1 comments about Beyond Innocence: An Autobiography in Letters: The Later Years.

1. Jane Goodall is one of my personal heroines. Any time I might think that one person cannot make a difference and that I should just continue to sit and do nothing, I can read about Goodall and her singular and single-minded vision of changing the world.
   
   This volume of Goodall's autobiography consists of hundreds of her personal letters, adroitly gathered together and explained by the editor so that there is a cohesive whole. We follow her through years of expanding her work with chimpanzees at her original research facilities in Gombe (where, as a very young woman, she worked ALONE), to her expanding environmental empire, to her ceaseless lobbying, traveling, letter-writing, speech-making, and appeals to leaders throughout the world to help in her efforts to save her beloved chimps (our closest primate cousins), baboons, other wildlife, and especially the rain forests upon which these animals depend for life.
   
   Her letters show the private Jane, full of the joy of motherhood (she raised her only son, Hugo Jr., or "Grublin," in the wild in a childhood that had to be spectacular beyond belief, but was like any other mother worried about teething, late talking, naughtiness and refusal to do his math!), battling bouts of malaria while writing endless (it seems) books, proposals, thank-yous, acknowledgements, and so forth.
   
   We see her through the pain of divorce, a happy remarriage, and the horror of seeing her new husband die of inoperable cancer. We see her renewed efforts to save her beloved chimpanzees, and her first horrified visit to a lab, where she was reduced to kneeling in tears at the plight of captive apes treated like things rather than the sensitive creatures they are.
   
   The book ends in the late 90s, with Jane's latest conservation efforts still going strong. I was so intent and so wound up in her story that I immediately went to the Jane Goodall Institute Website to see what I could do in some small way to further her cause. But you don't have to be a conservationist to admire this strong, brilliant, single-minded and fabulous woman. This is a book for everyone, and I recommend it highly and unequivocally.

3 comments about Joseph Leidy: The Last Man Who Knew Everything.

1. This book is required reading for anyone interested in natural history or the academic and scientific climate of 19th century Philadelphia. Leidy, a man of immense distinction in his time, was virtually forgotten in this century. Warren has given us an absorbing account of the life and times of this eminent Victorian, and in doing so has restored him to the stature he deserves as "The Last Man Who Knew Everything."



2. Most readers of this book who are familiar with Joseph Leidy and his work will be disappointed. The biography offers an ear full about the scientific climate during the late 1800's of America, but relatively little about, Joseph Leidy, himself. Throughout the book the author laments the fact that Leidy was not an experimental biologist or theorist, and overlooks Leidy's talents as a descriptive biologist, geologist, and (what he is most known for) paleontologist. This book, even, lacks a bibliography of Joseph Leidy's writings. I would suggest anyone to read Joseph Leidy's original words. Hopefully we don't have to wait another 150 years for the next biography to be published.



3. An outstanding account. Another reviewer has complained that there is relatively little here about Leidy himself, but the book is filled with accounts and stories of Leidy, his fears, his struggles, his hopes, and his triumphs -- there is much here about Leidy 'the man'. True, there is also much here about science in America during Leidy's life, which I found fascinating. This is a carefully researched book, with copious notes and references, and dense with facts and supporting historical perspectives. It is not a leisurely read, but a very rewarding one. Thank you, Dr. Warren, for such a fine effort.

5 comments about Lavoisier in the Year One: The Birth of a New Science in an Age of Revolution (Great Discoveries).

1. Lavoisier in the Year One is a complex biography that discusses both the life of Antoine Lavoisier and also the times that he lived in. Lavoisier was a very intelligent man that lived a multifaceted life. Lavoisier is best known for his work as a scientist, and more specifically a chemist. Known as the "Father of Chemistry," Lavoisier turned chemistry into a mainstream science that was respected by the scientific community as a whole. Before Lavoisier, chemistry was simply a hobby that was essentially a fact-based form of alchemy. This biography discusses how Lavoisier became the man that would change the world of science permanently.
   
   Lavoisier was much more than a chemist. He served various other roles as a scientist, such as a debunker of false scientific claims submitted to the French Royal Society. Lavoisier should also be remembered for the role he played as a member of the French government. He was an inspector for the Tobacco Commission of France, and cracked down both on tobacco smugglers and on those who grew adulterated tobacco. Later, Lavoisier was the head of the Gunpowder Administration, and his efforts to increase the French arsenal proved vital to the American Revolution, as the American revolutionaries received most of their arms from the French. Other major government affairs that Lavoisier was involved in include financing, and the construction of a wall around Paris to prevent goods from being imported into the city without the transporters paying a tax on the goods. Unfortunately, it was his role in these various government affairs that led to his downfall; Lavoisier would be executed by the radical Jacobins during the Reign of Terror in May of 1794.
   
   Chemistry is a subject that is based around elements. In the mid-to-late 18th century, the Aristotelian theory of four elements (fire, earth, air, and water) was beginning to lose popularity after having existed for centuries as the unquestioned truth. Georg Stahl, a German physicist and chemist, came up with the idea of the "phlogiston," which he believed was essentially the driving force behind every effervescent reaction. Lavoisier didn't really believe that the phlogiston existed, even though the idea was gaining popularity at exponential rates. Lavoisier exploited many new inventions, most importantly one which could collect gases that were released during a reaction, to discover and develop the theory of the existence of oxygen. Oxygen was the first element that was discovered, and with its discovery came a chemical revolution.
   
   I believe that Madison Bell was compelled to recount this story because very few people really know about the man that Lavoisier was. Antoine Lavoisier was truly an ingenious man that was involved in just about every part of French society. I believe that Bell simply wanted to share the true story of this complex man.
   
   Anyone interested in reading this book should read it. It is a very well written novel, and Bell shows his mastery of the English language repeatedly throughout the story to bring it to life. This book shows how Lavoisier had ability not only as a scientist, but also as a government reformer, and also how well he was able to keep balance in his life between the two subjects. Bell really did his research with this biography, as he shows how the social developments of the time affected Lavoisier and his work. It truly is a deep book that will show any reader just how intelligent and diligent a man Lavoisier was.



2. In Lavoisier in the Year One, Madison Smartt Bell makes a good effort in giving a glimpse into the life of one of the most well-known scientist of his time, and also a rather influential politician. Bell starts by giving an insight into the influential figures, such as Abb'e Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, who first brought Antoine Lavoisier in contact with the scientific world. Bell reveals the benefits that Lavoisier received as a politician, such as having taxes support for his research; a benefit that other aspiring scientists lacked. Bell illustrates that as Lavoisier made strides, he introduced different theories that differed from the statues quo, such as his theory about combustion. Bell essentially makes it noticeable that Lavoisier did not face resistance for such theories, but Bell does introduce an antagonist force known by as Jean-Paul Marat. Bell achieves his goal of giving detailed insight into a scientist's life.
   However, the biography at times presents itself unclear as it tends to go off topic and fails to make connections. More importantly it is unclear to see at times how what Lavoisier had accomplished, influenced the future. Since Lavoisier is "Father of Modern Chemistry," he has much to pass on to major figures in the scientific world. Besides some misguiding in the biography, it presents itself well and it is worthy of respectful recognition.



3. Very good book. Explains the dificult times of the French revolution, that caught Lavoisier in the guillotine. Interesting detail on his experiments, and how he did careful scientific research. Many interesting tid-bits on his personal life. Explains how he was careful in doing his experiments & careful in drawing his conclusions. Good examples even today on good experimental procedures. Explains how he discovered Oxygen, at about the same time as Priestly in England.



4. Antoine Lavoisier, a meticulous laboratory chemist, was one of three European chemists credited with the discovry of oxygen; however, he is remembered even more for developing an effective language for chemistry itself. Unfortunately, Lavoisier is also known for his tragic death by guillotine.
   
   Many accounts of the early years of chemistry are at best confusing, some even bewildering, largely because alchemy's secrets (in many cases poorly understood to begin with) were disguised and obfuscated by codes, ciphers, arcane terms, and even literary metaphors. Despite this inherent difficulty, Madison Smartt Bell's examination of the formative years of modern chemistry is surprisingly clear and lucid. Lavoisier in Year One will appeal to a wide audience.
   
   The young Lavoisier learned in university classes that the presence of phlogiston (the 'matter of fire') in a substance was responsible for the combustibility of that substance. Charcoal, wood, and sulfur burned readily because they contained significant phlogiston.
   
   The process of smelting ores was described as the transfer of phlogiston from charcoal to the ore; the ores absorbed the phlogiston, thereby becoming refined metals. In calcinations (now call oxidation) metals were heated and transformed back into ores, thereby releasing their phlogiston.
   
   Obviously, one serious drawback to this widely accepted explanation was that phlogiston had never been observed in the laboratory.
   
   For years Lavoisier directed his efforts toward understanding the essence of fire and the nature of air. He compiled a detailed account of all earlier research on on free air and 'fixed air' (carbon dioxide) by French, English, German, and other European scientists. He carefully repeated earlier experiments, using state of the art scientific instrumentation, some that he devised himself.
   
   There is disagreement on whether the discovery of oxygen should be attributed to France (Lavoisier's eminently breathable air), England (Joseph Priestly's dephlogisticated air), or Sweden (Carl Wilhelm Scheele's fire air). The basic problem is that Lavoisier, Priestly, and Scheele were slow to understand exactly what they had discovered.
   
   Finally, in a paper to the French Academy of Sciences in 1777, Lavoisier stated: "I shall henceforward designate dephlogisticated air or eminently breathable air ...by that of le principe oxygine." With this new term 'oxygen', Lavoisier clearly won the nomenclature battle.
   
   But even more importantly, in his later years Lavoisier brought forth an entirely new language for naming substances. This new lexicon would no longer employ arbitrary names, but use terms which expressed chemical relationships.
   
   For example, from the name alone a student of chemistry can immediately recognize that calcium nitrate is a product that has a higher oxygen content than calcium nitrite. This language for naming substances encapsulated the results of laboratory measurements. Lavoisier indeed changed the face of chemistry.
   
   Bell's historical account of Lavoisier is equally a story of a revolution gone awry, a tale of terror and senseless executions.
   
   The French Revolution envisioned fundamental changes to all aspects of society. Some innovations, such as the metric system survived, while others have been forgotten.
   
   A new calendar divided each month into ten three-day cycles, and each day into ten periods of 100 minutes. Each minute consisted of 100 seconds. The French Revolutionary calendar began year one on September 22, 1792, the day on which the French Republic was formally established. Lavoisier's encounter with the French Revolution's dread Committee of Public Safety was in Year One.
   
   Lavoisier in the Year One is a good addition to the Great Discoveries Series. It is among my favorites.
   
   I also recommend Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel (by Rebecca Goldstein), and Einstein's Cosmos: How Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time (by Michio Kaku), and Miss Leavitt's Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe (by George Johnson).



5. I didn't quite like this book for several reasons. First, I am not sure how much of the book is original material that was derived from original sources. For one thing, the Notes section at the end gives me the impression that most, if not all, of the quotations in the book are regurgitations of what was already in Lavoisier's previous biographies. Gathering up all the existing biographies of a person and then writing a "new" biography out of them doesn't sound like a big deal to me.
   
   Second, I found the author's habit of mixing up the chronological orders of events quite confusing and annoying. Example: the very 1st sentence of the book is about the events of 1793, the year before Lavoisier died; as the chapter progresses, the narrative moves backward; rather annoying. Another example: chapter V begins in August 1789, but on the next page we suddenly return to March 1789 and start over again; rather confusing.
   
   Third, Mr. Bell's apparent lack of a background in chemistry seems to have introduced a few errors that an editorial review should have corrected. Example: The footnote on page 94 states that "Carbon dioxide dissolved in limewater {Ca(OH)2(aq)} precipitates carbonate ion {CaCO3}." What precipitates is not carbonate ion, but calcium carbonate proper, CaCO3. Also, I had never seen the use of curly brackets ({}) around chemical formulae before.
   
   Criticism aside, I did learn from this book, but that was mostly because I knew very little about Lavoisier's life before.

No comments about Huygens: The Man Behind the Principle.

2 comments about Life Cycles: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist.

1. Now this is a nice book. The life a biologist and the biology of life in a charming and compact 200 pages. Bonner's cellular slime molds are just facinating; I can't wait to get somewhere where there is soil (I live in the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile) so I can find some of these creatures and play with them. If you have any interest in biology or evolution, get youself a copy. It will make you smile. I promise.



2. This book is only 200 pages in length but presents an excellent overview of evolution from the perspective of life cycles interwoven with personal anecdotes from the author's own life and particularly his life-long study of slime molds.
   From single cells to multicellularity to complexity and even human culture Bonner explains the spread of the many diverse life-forms and behaviors. As well as slime molds there is much of interest regarding other species, such as insects and birds, and regarding the evolution of signals and responses.
   For those outside the subject it is an excellent introduction and for those who are already familiar with most of the subject matter it reminds us how fascinating evolutionary biology is and how Darwinian natural selection has contributed to our understanding of, and delight in, life.

5 comments about Genes, Girls, and Gamow: After the Double Helix.

1. Anyone expecting a stoic recollection of the works of a great scientist will find many such books available.This is not one of them. It is, however, a very real self-portait of a man in his latter years who, while being a great scientist, admits to not being a great 'everything'. It makes the legend human, just as the anecdotes about his peers makes them less stone gods of science, and more multi-dimensional people. 'Genes, Girls, and Gamow' is the kind of book you might hear orally from the author in his den in a comfortable leather chair.It is definitly not lab coat and sterile conditions reading. If you want a genetics text, BUY a genetics text. If you want a good example of how great insight in an art or science does not make one immune from the human condition, then give this book a read.



2. I bought this book hoping to understand more about the circle of people who relates to the DNA problem; I found an author who thinks and talks like a l3 year old and has nothing to say..well yes a name is dropped here and there 2 sentences later he is off talking about something else, usually girls. What a waste of money this is unless you want to have nothing but contempt for scientists, but this is a very unrepresentive book and person to appreciate science..a silly 300 pages of drival. Those who wonder what his relationship with Franklin was might find interesting that initially in California he dreaded seeing her again, found her pleasant, pretended to do this and that to help her, but in reality skips off looking for girls! What a jerk! What a vacuous book, worse than one could ever imagine.



3. Having read the truly exciting and insightful account of the discovery of the double helical structure in Watson's `The Double Helix', I was looking forward to more insights on science, the process of discovery if not insights into how great minds collaborated. I found none of this in the book.
   
   The book is an honest account of Watson's experiences, thoughts and feelings during 1950-1970. Much of the book relates to his being enamoured and his insecurities in relation to Christa, who turns out to be a love lost.
   
   More interesting are the descriptions with Gamov - a giant both figuratively and literally - who impacted Watson deeply. Gamov made lasting contributions to both biology as well as physics.
   
   Other interesting aspects of the book include the formation of the `RNA Tie Club' of 20 members aiming to solve the structure of RNA, various travels, accounts of lively parties (with copious consumption of alcohol) and practical jokes everyone seemed to enjoy / revel in. At times one can't help but feel that this was a concerted attempt to shake lose the nerdy image.
   
   In parts, the book reads like a journal, in other instances the discussions of specifics requires a deeper understanding of Chemistry. I was hoping for a insightful and cogent description of efforts, how science works, how the best minds pool ideas to extend knowledge and how significant was the contribution by key players outlined in the book. In these areas, the book left more than a little to be desired.
   
   From someone who co-discovered `the secret of life' readers should be forgiven to expect more than is delivered by Watson in Girls, Genes and Gamov.



4. This book is perhaps more interesting in giving a little window into the lives of a small community of wealthy elite scholars in that era of Cambridge, with their summers climbing mountains and their academic reputations sometimes secured more by lineage than personal accomplishment.
   
   I was disappointed with this book mainly because there is a dearth of science in it, and the many characters in the book lack personality. In some ways it reads like a laundry list: So and so met so and so here and they did so and so.



5. Normally I wouldn't take the time to add to a chorus of negative reviews, but this book was a doozy. The contrast between the author's reputation and what he reveals about himself is breathtaking.
   
   The best part of this book: seeing how so many brilliant people wandered into so many dead ends while trying to figure out the structure of RNA and the genetic code in the 1950s. This is much more interesting than the usual presentation of scientific discoveries as faits accomplis.
   
   Many physicists were drawn into this quest, including Richard Feynman. But it was the intuitions of (ex-physicist) Francis Crick that were right on the money, including his predictions of "RNA adaptors" much like transfer RNA, and of a triplet code with multiple reading frames (with S. Brenner). And unlike Watson and many others, he hadn't even been working on the problem full-time.
   
   You do need to know at least a little about virology and molecular biology to enjoy this aspect of the book, because the text leaves a lot unexplained. So one wonders whom Watson intended as an audience - if he was thinking about his audience at all.
   
   Watson certainly does think a great deal about, and of, himself. In his prologue he describes a 1986 visit to his old Cambridge office, where he found a grad student "who had no idea who I was ... The manners that Cambridge so long ago instilled in me did not let me reveal my identity." Later, describing a 1956 trip to Israel, he mentions his "relief" at "finding hosts who knew who I was."
   
   His self-infatuation informs the "girls" aspect of the book too. Watson doesn't only kiss and tell, he holds hands and tells, hugs and tells, exchanges long meaningful glances with wives of friends and tells, and guides "once-ripe" mothers of friends on the dance floor and tells. He freights the slightest incidents with unspoken meaning -- but ultimately comes across like the virginal Eric Idle character in the "Nudge, nudge" Monty Python routine. Thankfully, we never hear if he ever made it to second base or beyond.
   
   How could he recall all this 50 years later? According to the introduction, his former heartthrob, Christa Mayr Menzel, gave him access to 60 letters he'd sent her during this period. (He started pursuing her when she was a 17-year-old high school senior, and he was a Ph.D. of 25 or so.) But if his letters really detailed every time he walked on the beach with some other girl after a drunken party before a chaste good-night, it's no wonder Ms. Mayr grew cold to him. Watson thinks it appropriate to include reproductions of two banal postcards from her (one of which is signed "love, Christa", as if he has something to prove to us), plus the text of the whining letter he wrote to her father after she dumped him.
   
   By the book's epilogue it becomes clear that even after his Nobel Prize, Watson pursued only women who worked in his lab or were undergraduates. The water pistol comment quoted by a reviewer below leads one to suspect that they were nonetheless more mature than he.
   
   The "happy ending" is his marriage to a Radcliffe sophomore less than half his age, a few days before his 40th birthday. His celebratory postcard to a Harvard colleague, "19 year old now mine," is creepy and chilling. Watson claims this has been a happy and durable union, and there's no grudging him that. But one wishes he'd kept some aspects of his life known only to his intimate circle, instead of sharing them with the unsuspecting reader.

5 comments about Force of Nature: The Life of Linus Pauling.

1. Linus Pauling loved America. Born in the USA in 1901, of humble, working parents, he was a winner of two Nobel Prizes and a witness and participant in almost all the grand events of the 21st century: the discovery of quantum physics, the gradual understanding of how chemistry works, the discovery of DNA, the development of the atomic bomb, two world wars, the cold war and McCarthyism, the emergence of big science and super-universities like Cal Tech, and the social activism of the 60s. Pauling, like the fictional character, Forest Gump, had a remarkable life in which he encountered and influenced almost all the major characters of 21st century science, politics, and society. A loving husband and father, Pauling was devoted to his wife of 60 plus years, which provides another fascinating undercurrent to his life. This is one book I was sorry to have finished -- I found it relaxing AND educational. Author Tom Hager has an enviable ability to explain complex, scientific concepts in everyday language, whether they come from the world of physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, or drug development. He expertly weaves the science in with the modern history of our country, from life in rural Oregon where Pauling was born and raised, to the capitals of the world where he influenced presidents and national leaders, to Hollywood and university campuses where his gregarious, fun-loving personality, communication ability, and liberal politics turned him into a media darling. With short, snappy chapters, this book is hard to put down.......



2. Editor: I wrote one of the reviews of this book already included on your website. But there was a typo in my original version. I wrote "21st century" when I obviously meant "20th century" in describing the century in which Linus Pauling lived. Do you think you could correct this typo? Thanks.

   William Ott
   Montgomery Village, MD




3. The Hager book is not bad at all, though I would not rank it above the Serafini book. Probably the motivation for saying this is that there is less of Pauling's science in the Serafini book and more in Hager's book. However, many reviewers miss the point that the purpose of a biography is to delve into a subject's life and personality -- not the details of his work. And, in any case, Pauling stopped doing any serious science before the 60's began and in fact left Caltech near the beginning of that decade, thereafter devoting his life mainly to silly peace crusades, vitamin C hokum and such things. So in this respect the Serafini book is actually more in proportion to Pauling's serious work in science and does a fairly good job. In this respect also, the Goertzel book in my view also does well, although the latter is a bit too "psychoanalytical" for my taste .



4. There are very few scientists in history who can truly be called 'giants'. Two times Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling was undoubtedly one of them, and also a great humanitarian. In this biography, Thomas Hager brings a fine perspective to the life of this remarkable man.
   Hager puts every part of Pauling's life and science in the spotlight; growing up in Oregon among difficult times without a father, attending college and university through sheer grit and determination, learning the new sciences of x-ray crystallography and quantum mechanics, and finally applying this knowledge to an amazing array of fields in chemistry, physics, biology and medicine, in the process becoming one of the greatest scientists of the century.
   
   Pauling's life can really be divided into two parts, both of which Hager discusses in detail. In the first part, he became the foremost chemist in the world and made contributions to an almost unbelievable variety of topics; the chemical bond and quantum chemistry, inorganic and organic chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology, and medical research. In at least two of these, quantum chemistry and molecular biology, he became their founding father in the true sense of the term.
   In the second part of his life, Pauling became a great humanitarian, relentlessly protesting against nuclear testing in the face of great troubles brought about by McCarthysm and the Cold War. After World War 2, Pauling's life was a constant struggle as he waged war against nuclear weapons, was accused of having Communist sympathies and denied a passport for travelling to England by the State Department (thus possibly missing out on winning the race to discover the DNA structure), and had to leave his beloved Caltech of many years because of tensions between himself and the administration. When he received the Nobel Peace prize, a prominent newspaper called it 'a weird insult from Sweden'.
   In spite of all this, Pauling still found time to make the great discovery of protein structure, and make decisive contributions to molecular biology and medicine. He was the first person to describe a genetically inherited disease, sickle cell anemia, in molecular terms. This is one of the harbingers of the modern age of drug discovery and gene-therapy. Hager portrays both Pauling's scientific as well as political crusades in an excellent way. He also manages to put the man in context, and discusses the general changing political and scientific scenario of Pauling's times. This includes the beginning of 'big science', the permanent moulding of science and politics, and the coming of age of American academia and industry.
   
   In later years, Pauling was even more bitterly criticized for his espousal of unorthodox ideas in nutrition and medicine (especially his insistence about the benefits of unusually large doses of Vitamin C as a puported cure for almost everything, from the common cold to cancer). However, the last words on his medical theories has not yet been said and research continues.
   From very early on in all of Pauling's endeavors, he was constantly supported by an extraordinary woman; his wife, Ava Helen, and Hager very rightly gives due and important attention to her in this book; many times, the essential strong and silent women behind the men are forgotten and fortunately Hager does not do this.
   
   There are many biographies of Pauling ( the ones by Serafini, Goertzel and Mead being the main ones). In its scope and comprehensivenes, Hager's is probably the best. All in all, a great read about a truly important scientist-citizen of the last century



5. Linus Pauling was indisputably one of the greatest Americans of the last century. He revolutionized chemistry, helped to start biochemistry, was a well-known political activist, and later put his energies into health science research. For these accomplishments, he became the only person to win two unshared Nobel prizes. There are, indeed, those who claim that he was very close to being the first person to determine the structure of DNA, but did not do so because he was unable to attend a crucial meeting, at which some pivotal discoveries about DNA were reported. The two scientists who did discover the structure of DNA were, of course, rewarded with the Nobel Prize.
   
   Any biography of such a prodigy must suffer under the dearth of biographers able to do their subject justice. Hager, who knew Pauling before his death, has done a very good job of making Pauling come to life; the book, which bears close reading, is easily worth five stars.
   
   Nevertheless it has a few deficiencies. One is that Hager barely explains Pauling's scientific accomplishments. Obviously excessive detail is beyond the scope of the book, but a hundred or so pages devoted to the basic concepts and the ramifications of Pauling's work would have made for a vastly more interesting book. Hager, as is to be expected of one of Pauling's friends, is somewhat protective of Pauling. He describes how Pauling repeatedly made fools of many American "Anti-communists" who were, at times, paranoid and ignorant, at times, vindictive, and, at times, outright liars. The climate of "loyalty oaths" and of various government agencies suspecting anyone who had ever had anything to do with anyone under suspicion was chilling.
   
   And yet Hager doesn't adequately describe the other side of the coin. The United States certainly had warts, but he utterly neglects the Soviet Union's abject disregard for human rights, its forced labor camps, and its many other flaws. Neither does Communist China's self-genocidal Cultural Revolution merit a single mention, not even when Hager describes Pauling's controversial visit to the Chinese attempt to create a "Worker's Paradise." Pauling, who was drawn into the demimonde of fringe left-wing politics, and Utopian political ideas by his wife, appears to have been completely oblivious to these unpleasant realities. By neglecting to duly describe these rather poor judgments on Pauling's part, which did so much to discredit him, Hager doesn't portray Pauling as the political knight errant he so clearly was. All the same, this biography is well worth reading.

5 comments about Coroner's Journal: Forensics and the Art of Stalking Death.

1. This is book that is hard to put down. Cataldie takes you with him to crime scenes. He is a very detailed writer. I would love to find more books like this.



2. I was totally involved with reading this book. I couldn't put it down until I had finished it.
   Very in depth, very well written, really does show the steps a coroner goes thru in a death and crime situation.
   I felt as if I were on the investigating team. It really is a very good book, including much about the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in the New Orleans area.



3. This was an excellent forensic case book. Not only do you get excellent cases but you also get the author's down to earth personality, concern for life and true emotions. If you enjoy forensic novels and case books - This is a definite must read!!



4. This book is, for the most part, as deep as a conversation - like what you'd hear over dinner or having a beer - more than it is a real examination of the coroner's role and duties.
   
   Don't get me wrong, this is a really nice first effort, but I come away feeling like I have not learned much about Dr. Cataldie or his office.
   
   We learn that he takes his work seriously, it's a tough job and you can't let it get to you.
   
   Don't get me wrong, I personally know people with similar positions, and it is a tough, demanding job that takes a toll most people will never realize. I wish everyone could understand the sacrifices Dr. Cataldie and others like him make each and ever day.
   
   However, I do a little professional writing myself, and the most important lesson: Show, don't tell. Take us with you, don't just describe the trip. You got real close, particularly in the Conclusion chapter when he talks about some of the regular people who have needed his professional services. I'd like to hear more about them.
   
   So for that Katrina book I hope you're working on, dig deep, buddy. I know you can do it.



5. I love reading about how mds and police officials try to determine time of death, manner of death, etc. This book was hard to put down, and i looked forward to come home from work to get back into it.