New books & media
DOI: 10.1063/PT.3.4147
Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies
Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies, Andrew Maynard, Mango, 2018, $27.99
From resurrection biology and human cloning to artificial intelligence and genetic manipulation, imagined technologies form the backbone of science fiction. In Films from the Future, physicist Andrew Maynard discusses the promises and potential pitfalls of technologies from 12 of his favorite movies—some blockbusters, like Jurassic Park (1993), and some more obscure, like The Man in the White Suit (1951). Part cautionary tale, part message of hope, Maynard’s narrative is both entertaining and thought-provoking. —
The Scientist and the Forger: Probing a Turbulent Art World
The Scientist and the Forger: Probing a Turbulent Art World, Jehane Ragai, World Scientific, 2018 (2nd ed.). $68.00
Jehane Ragai, an emeritus professor of chemistry at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, takes the reader on a tour through the fascinating world of art forgery in the second edition of The Scientist and the Forger. Ragai covers the science of forgery detection but also emphasizes other signs that a piece of art might be fraudulent, such as the lack of a paper trail establishing ownership. The chapters string together anecdotes about different forgers and forgeries in a way that can sometimes feel disjointed, but readers interested in art will find much to intrigue them. The book’s beautiful color images add another level of appeal. —
King of the Dinosaur Hunters: The Life of John Bell Hatcher and the Discoveries That Shaped Paleontology
King of the Dinosaur Hunters: The Life of John Bell Hatcher and the Discoveries That Shaped Paleontology, Lowell Dingus, Pegasus Books, 2018, $35.00
John Bell Hatcher was a prolific 19th-century collector of prehistoric fossils and bones, including the first Triceratops skeleton. In King of the Dinosaur Hunters, paleontologist Lowell Dingus concentrates on Hatcher’s professional life. He delves into Hatcher’s extensive travels, fossil collecting, and all the minutiae associated with those activities, including letters to employers, expenses, and conflicts with his fellow paleontologists. The book provides little detail about Hatcher’s personal life and is aimed primarily at paleontology devotees interested in knowing more about the challenges of early fossil hunting. —
Exoplanets: Hidden Worlds and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life
Exoplanets: Hidden Worlds and the Quest for Extraterrestrial Life, Donald Goldsmith, Harvard U. Press, 2018, $24.95
Astronomer Donald Goldsmith considers the past and future of exoplanet science in his new book, which is aimed at a scientifically informed but nonexpert audience. He recounts early efforts to detect planets outside our solar system and explains the breakthroughs in detection methods that enabled astronomers to find the first exoplanets. He also gives an informative account of where known exoplanets are and what they might be like, along with a tantalizing glimpse at what might come next for astronomers as they search beyond the solar system’s bounds. —
The Sun: One Thousand Years of Scientific Imagery
The Sun: One Thousand Years of Scientific Imagery, Katy Barrett and Harry Cliff, Scala, 2018, $27.95
Created to accompany a special exhibition at London’s Science Museum, The Sun highlights sketches, paintings, and photographs from the museum’s solar imagery collections. Illustrations range from a 12th-century monk’s sunspot drawings in an illuminated manuscript, to an 18th-century Spirograph-like representation of the solar system, to photographic close-ups of the Sun taken by orbiting spacecrafts. Authors Katy Barrett and Harry Cliff, both curators at the museum, showcase the creativity of astronomers, theologians, and artists over the past millennium. —
Galileo Galilei: The Tuscan Artist
Galileo Galilei: The Tuscan Artist, Pietro Greco, Springer, 2018, $44.99
In this full-length biography, science writer Pietro Greco delves into the life and times of the celebrated Italian polymath and Renaissance man Galileo Galilei. Although “artist” may not be the first word that comes to the reader’s mind regarding Galileo, the book’s subtitle is actually a quote from Paradise Lost, in which John Milton refers to his famous contemporary. Milton’s words acknowledged that Galileo excelled not only in science but also in philosophy, theology, and the arts. Drawing on an extensive bibliography and filled with digressions and trivia, this 383-page book aims to be an in-depth portrait of a man Greco calls “a real superstar, probably the first big star of the modern age.” —
The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos
The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos, Christian Davenport, PublicAffairs, 2018, $28.00
Christian Davenport, a journalist for the Washington Post, dives into the world of private spaceflight in this new volume. The Space Barons focuses on billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, each of whom has invested part of his personal fortune in the future of commercial space travel. Davenport tells an entertaining story of the rivalry between Bezos’s Blue Origin and Musk’s SpaceX and provides readable short biographies of both men. Quotes from interviews with Bezos, Musk, and other major players in the spaceflight industry are particularly illuminating. —
Networks
Networks, Mark Newman, Oxford U. Press, 2018 (2nd ed.). $65.00
University of Michigan physicist Mark Newman first published his textbook Networks in 2010, but as he says in the introduction to the second edition, the science of networks is moving quickly. The new and updated Networks adds sections on topics including multilayer networks, complex contagion, and network synchronization. It also includes updates to other sections of the book and new exercises for students. Newman aims the first 10 chapters at students in a general-knowledge course on networks; later chapters will require knowledge of linear algebra and more. —
The Moon
The Moon, Bill Leatherbarrow, Reaktion Books, 2018, $40.00
The Moon has fascinated humans since ancient times. In this brief history of lunar science, amateur astronomer Bill Leatherbarrow discusses how human understanding and knowledge of the Moon has progressed from the earliest observations with the naked eye to an increasingly more sophisticated understanding with the invention of the telescope and the advent of space travel. Nicely illustrated with drawings, maps, and photographs, the book ends with a chapter extolling the virtues of backyard astronomy and detailing the necessary equipment, the lunar features to look for, and the benefits of citizen science. —
