A capably guided tour of a scientific wave of the future.
An enthusiastic account of organisms that silently rule the Earth.
Viruses are “smaller than the wavelength of light,” and they replicate by invading a cell, multiplying, and then leaving, often killing the cell. A minuscule fraction cause human disease—polio, measles, flu, Covid-19, some cancers—but most are benign and often an essential part of life. Human viruses receive plenty of attention, but science journalist Ireland hits pay dirt by focusing on those that attack bacteria. Called bacteriophages or “phages,” they often attack deadly human infections. In 1917, scientists discovered that certain liquids, filtered to remove bacteria, destroyed bacterial cultures. They theorized that the fluid contained viruses that were “too small to see with a light microscope.” Researchers took up the idea of using these liquids to treat human infections. “For a few decades in the early twentieth century,” writes the author, “the world went mad for phages, and phage therapy was everywhere.” But phages are tricky. Some are weakly infectious; others are “hyper-specific, targeting only particular strains.” At the time, technology was primitive, and governments were lax about preclinical testing. By the 1930s, antibiotics appeared, miraculous drugs that made infections vanish. Sadly, by the 1990s, their vast overuse in medicine and agriculture was producing a deadly epidemic of increasingly resistant and even entirely impervious bacteria. Inevitably, this revived interest in phages. Both optimistic and realistic, Ireland writes that designing a phage for a specific bacterial strain is more complex than developing an antibiotic, and clinical trials have proven frustrating and expensive. He describes dramatic cures but no breakthroughs so far. At the halfway point of the book, the author rewinds the clock to the 1930s, describing genetic and DNA–related phage research that has led to numerous Nobel Prizes and an ongoing scientific revolution that has extended from the discovery of the double helix to genetic engineering, cloning, and insights into the nature of life itself.
A capably guided tour of a scientific wave of the future.Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9781324050834
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
An above-average celebrity memoir from an intriguing spirit.
The longtime Hollywood actor looks back.
“What does it mean to be a ham?” asks the author, rhetorically. “Was I a ham? I was naturally and inordinately theatrical. I liked to carry on. I liked attention. I liked extravagant speech. I liked to emote. I liked to talk.” All of these qualities are abundantly evident in Kilmer’s memoir, which is as much a spiritual journey as it is a chronicle of his life and career. The author recounts the depth of his Christian Science faith, his formative years in a family of privilege in Los Angeles, his teenage romance with fellow actor Mare Winningham (“my first real girlfriend”), his training and rebellion at Juilliard, and his decision to leave Broadway for Hollywood. There, he writes, “I was not yet a burgeoning talent but ‘Cher’s lover,’ ” when she was in her mid-30s and he in his early-20s. After scoring big with Tom Cruise in Top Gun, Kilmer turned down Blue Velvet and Dirty Dancing: “Neither part spoke to me.” He played Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s The Doors, which he considers “one of the proudest moments of my career.” Marlon Brando and Sam Shepard went from being idols that Kilmer worshipped to becoming friends. He was slated to star as Batman in three films but jumped ship after Batman Forever, which he considers “so bad, it’s almost good.” He married and divorced British actor Joanne Whalley and wooed Daryl Hannah (“kind of the female me, only better”), and he wrote and starred in a one-man show as Mark Twain. When he was hospitalized for surgery due to his throat cancer, he prayed, he read Twain and Christian Science’s Mary Baker Eddy, and he “didn’t wrestle with my angels. I sang and danced with them.” Kilmer was never a shrinking violet, and he still refuses to wilt.
An above-average celebrity memoir from an intriguing spirit. (photos)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9821-4489-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.
The chef, rapper, and TV host serves up a blustery memoir with lashings of self-help.
“I’ve always had a sick confidence,” writes Bronson, ne Ariyan Arslani. The confidence, he adds, comes from numerous sources: being a New Yorker, and more specifically a New Yorker from Queens; being “short and fucking husky” and still game for a standoff on the basketball court; having strength, stamina, and seemingly no fear. All these things serve him well in the rough-and-tumble youth he describes, all stickball and steroids. Yet another confidence-builder: In the big city, you’ve got to sink or swim. “No one is just accepted—you have to fucking show that you’re able to roll,” he writes. In a narrative steeped in language that would make Lenny Bruce blush, Bronson recounts his sentimental education, schooled by immigrant Italian and Albanian family members and the mean streets, building habits good and bad. The virtue of those habits will depend on your take on modern mores. Bronson writes, for example, of “getting my dick pierced” down in the West Village, then grabbing a pizza and smoking weed. “I always smoke weed freely, always have and always will,” he writes. “I’ll just light a blunt anywhere.” Though he’s gone through the classic experiences of the latter-day stoner, flunking out and getting arrested numerous times, Bronson is a hard charger who’s not afraid to face nearly any challenge—especially, given his physique and genes, the necessity of losing weight: “If you’re husky, you’re always dieting in your mind,” he writes. Though vulgar and boastful, Bronson serves up a model that has plenty of good points, including his growing interest in nature, creativity, and the desire to “leave a legacy for everybody.”
The lessons to draw are obvious: Smoke more dope, eat less meat. Like-minded readers will dig it.Pub Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4478-5
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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