Category Archives: Review

REVIEW: Answers for Aristotle by Massimo Pigliucci

A4A_coverMy grandpa was no philosopher (in fact, he was an engineer, which might be considered the exact opposite) but he used to say, “There’s always room for improvement.” Upon reflection, this may have been relevant to engineering, but I remember him saying this when I asked him why he gave our pizza a 4 out of 5 when I thought it was a fine pie. This sentiment has stuck with me, and it influences a lot about how I comport my own affairs. In my life, I too strive to constantly be improving, and have often struggled with being content while simultaneously wanting better. Now either this is a common philosophical problem for a human to have or Massimo Pigliucci is a mind-reader, but either way his new book seems written just to help people with this sort of problem out.

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REVIEW: Space Chronicles

Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier

Written by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

$26.95 / Hardcover / 384 pages

Published by W. W. Norton & Company

If I had to use one word to describe Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson (other than the obvious “brilliant” synonyms) I’d say he’s passionate. His desire to help the public appreciate science crosses media barriers with a verve and energy unmatched by many modern agenda promoters. Space Chronicles reads like an attempt to distill and bottle some of that passion, and the ensuing cocktail is an invigorating delight sure to infuse the reader with the spirit of Dr. Tyson himself.

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REVIEW: First in Space

Hey everyone, my apologies for not having posted a museum review in a while. You see, I’ve been interning at the Nashville Zoo and haven’t had a chance to scope out to other institutions. The good news is that in the downtime between interviewing visitors, I’ve managed to read some awesome books and comics about science, so that’s what we’re going to talk about today.

First in Space

Writer: James Vining
Artist: James Vining
Publisher:  Oni Press

$9.95/96 pages/Black and White

All summer long I’d been hearing about chimpanzees in the media, so now that the weather’s changing, it seemed fitting to close out the season with one of the greatest chimp stories of all time. As one might expect from a book titled “First in Space“, this is the tale of the first living being in space, a chimpanzee with the rather unassuming name “Ham”. I know, I know, just one letter off… In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the United States was lagging behind the USSR in the Space Race. The Soviets had already launched Laika (a story also available in comic form) into earth orbit, and the Americans were looking to jump ahead by successfully launching a creature into space — and successfully recovering the live specimen.

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REVIEW: The Book of Ice

The Book of Ice

Written by Paul D. Miller

$29.95 / 128 Pages / Full Color

Mark Batty Publisher

People complain about marketing, advertisements, and all that jazz, but sometimes they really pay off. There I was, simple podcaster trying to put together show on Antarctica and an e-mail pops up in my inbox proclaiming the publication of The Book of Ice by Paul Miller. So I replied. “Hey, I was just thinking about that continent…” and thus I wound up with a copy of the book.

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