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This is a book about wonders: the wonders of the natural world, the nature of light, the origins of life, and other mysteries of science. Taking a cue from the seven wonders of the ancient world, Henderson--a science writer--begins with the simplest phenomena and advances in seven chapters to the most complex. His inquiries range from the realms of physics and cosmology (How did the chemical elements originate? How is light propagated?) to the incredible resilience of the human body and the mystery of consciousness, to the wonders of modern technology and speculation toward the future. This brief synopsis hardly does justice to an intricate, elegantly illustrated, provocative book. "For there to be science, there must first be wonder," writes Hugh Aldersey-Williams in praise of the volume. This is a book rich in anecdotes about the history of science, with plenty of contemplation about the nature of science itself. In short, this book will be of value to anyone who has been curious about the topics it explores; it serves as an engaging, well-researched guide to the diverse wonders of the modern world.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

In this ambitious work, Sideris (religious studies, Indiana Univ.) argues that the material world actually points to the immaterial world. She succeeds by carefully examining where science fails. These failures are illustrated in a critique of preeminent scientists such as Richard Dawkins and Edward O. Wilson. She reveals that what they call wonder is not wonder at all but instead something colder and more lifeless--curiosity, perhaps, or the practice of solving puzzles for the sake of a solution that leads to yet another puzzle. This is not the sort of wonder that inspires songwriters to compose their music. Sideris balances the understanding of wonder by presenting the views of Rachel Carson and Loren Eiseley, citing their sense of humility in contrast to the hubris of today's cosmologists. Perhaps her greatest criticism focuses on the lack of environmental care fostered by their scientific overreach. This absolute faith in science calls to mind the 100-year anniversary of the birth of communism and the cost in human lives of an ideology that puts all its faith in science. Sideris's research is thorough, and her documentation is exhaustive.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

This interdisciplinary compilation, edited by communication scholars Priest, Goodwin, and Dahlstrom, is expertly organized into three categories, offering a strong theoretical grounding, applications in professional practice, and finally case studies with real-world, topical examples. The specific policy focus of many of the chapters will be invaluable to action-oriented science communicators as well as those who are learning about the significance of this field of study. Concerns for free speech and critical science literacy, as we read in Priest's chapter, resonate as significant problems that lack a straightforward solution. There are several crossovers from these topics into the open access and open science rhetoric. More timely than ever, this work is of the utmost importance as rapid-paced communication and miscommunication seem to influence public perceptions of policy. As more universities strive to demonstrate the value and impact of their work with external stakeholders, such as through internet resources like The Conversation, we are likely to see increased attention paid to communicating science. Expertly researched and highly readable, this multidisciplinary take is a work of remarkable value.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

It has been nearly twenty years since the last edition of this indispensable text. Sides, who directs the internship program at Fitchburg State University, points to the Jungian psychological framework of personality types, positing that our writing preferences are shaped by our personalities. Sides's aim is to equip students to grow as writers, and to reveal how strong writing skills can serve them in their careers. Readers will come away with an understanding of overcoming writing barriers and grasping specific foundational skills such as considering their audience, organizing their paper effectively, and honing their editing and revising skills. The book is perhaps most practical when Sides discusses how to write specific work-related documents such as analysis reports or product descriptions. Discussion topics also include the usefulness of incorporating visuals into projects, writing for social media and other internet resources, running successful meetings, and communicating information effectively during oral presentations. This book contains brief chapters, is thoughtfully organized for easy reference, and ensures that students master writing and other skills relevant to their personal and professional lives.Summing Up: Essential. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates.

Allison Kaufman and James Kaufman, a biologist and psychologist, respectively, on the faculty at the University of Connecticut, have done a masterful job of curating a series of essays on science and pseudoscience that places these opposing realms side by side to achieve a most useful understanding of both. The foreword and opening chapters provide an overview of the nature of pseudoscience, the difficulty of defining it, and its effect on the perception of science. The authors make no attempt to debunk pseudoscience; instead they explore its effects on cultural attitudes about science. Six main topics are divided into 22 chapters by contributors from a wide range of disciplines; these provide an array of case studies and thoughtful analysis of this interplay. Overall, this comprehensive work cannot be praised enough. This reviewer's impression is that most scientists don't spend much time thinking about the ins and outs of pseudoscience; this treatise will bring them up to date on current thinking. A bibliography accompanies each chapter and gives specialists direction for further study.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Statisticians have long repeated the mantra that correlation is not causality. The philosopher Hans Reichenbach countered: no causality without correlation. Pearl, a prominent computer scientist (UCLA) and expert on artificial intelligence, connects these two using path diagrams to illustrate which factors determine true causal connections. The most interesting chapters deal with familiar paradoxes and their solutions from this viewpoint--including Pearl's surprising, perhaps counterintuitive explanation of the "Monty Hall" or "Lets-Make-a-Deal" paradox. This example serves to explain significant correlations between smoking, tar, and various illnesses, as well as "good" versus "bad" cholesterol and their relation to heart attacks. Also discussed is the process of predicting results of actions that haven't been tested, such as with medical trials, and forecasting the future of climate change. Then: what would be required to enable machines to think like humans? An ability to deal with intent and free will, for one; this cannot result from simply following instructions in a stored program. Will it be possible to create machines that are capable of distinguishing good from evil--or "moral" robots? Anyone interested in probing connections between cause and effect, and their relevance for the future of AI, will find this a fascinating and provocative book.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Though many books explore past predictions of the future, Montfort (digital media, MIT) premises his text with the metaphor of a blank page, arguing that the future is less about predicting and more about creating and sharing. Montfort synthesizes a large breadth of ideas, historical movements, and individuals to build the basis for his examination, including ancient philosophers, literary utopias, and the irony of the artistic and destructive elements of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's early-20th-century futurism movement. Montfort adeptly illustrates the development of idea, design, and production through the continuum of Vannevar Bush's writings on Memex in the 1930s and 1940s to Douglas Engelbart's demonstration of his NLS (oN-Line System) graphical user interface in 1968 and Alan Kay's computer-as-book inspired Dynabook (1972) in comparison to contemporary notebook and tablet computers. Montfort concludes that corporate creations such as the General Motors sponsored "Futurama" diorama at the 1939 World's Fair and contemporary design fictions, such as Corning's A Day of Glass video (2011) are as important to future-making as scholarly and fine art creations. A compelling read appropriate for all collections, especially those serving lower-division undergraduates.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.