A strong case for public involvement in science.
Standing up for science.
Many people have lost trust in long-established institutions, and the lost trust in science is especially troubling, because science and technology play a key role in modern life. Lightman and Rees are well positioned to address the issue. Both are well-known scientists in their own right, as well as popular science communicators—Lightman is the author of 20 other books, Rees of 19. This is their first collaboration. The book centers on an urgent need for scientists to reach out to the public and to policymakers with clear, understandable explanations of their work and of the scientific process itself. The “scientific method” is not limited to scientists, the authors say, but is critical thinking “found in the work of attorneys, doctors, accountants, auto mechanics, and others.” It’s important that the public recognize that science is an evidence-based enterprise—new evidence leads to new knowledge and understanding. This may also lead to important technologies. “Many of the conveniences, pleasures, and necessities of modern life are the result of the marriage of pure and applied science: automobiles, computers, cell phones, radiation treatment for cancer, antibiotics, vacuum cleaners. Science and its applications are everywhere around us, so common as to be almost invisible.” Current policy issues such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, advanced medical procedures, and climate change, all discussed in detail, require an appreciation of the science underpinning possible choices, even if the science itself is hard to understand. “To grasp their essence isn’t so difficult,” the authors write. “Most of us appreciate music even if we can’t compose or perform it. Likewise, the key ideas of science can be accessed and enjoyed by almost everyone.” Effective policy requires enough understanding of science, Lightman and Rees write, “to avoid becoming bamboozled by propaganda and bad statistics.” This book is a good first step.
A strong case for public involvement in science.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780593702024
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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