OT: 5 recommended books

In article <[email hidden]>,

fresh~horses said:

What 5 books do you recommend others read? Sci, or not, published
anytime.

I've got a philosophical bent with oriental flavor. Wallace Stevens
sold insurance. Not mentioned Kathleen Raine ("The inner Journey of
the Poet"😉or Gary Snyder ( "The Real Work"😉. 😉))

This response is not to say think like this but to say wow look how us
humans can think. See good make it your own otherwise let it pass.
I like off topic stuff in a venue of folks dealing with similar issues.
Heart and health stuff at this time.

1) Harold Bloom Wallace Stevens
The Poems of Our Climate (Palm at the end of the Mind)

isbn 0-8014-0840-7

2)RYOKAN

Zen Monk-Poet of Japan

Trans Burton Watson
isbd- 0-231-044-04414-3

3) Narrow Road to the interior

Matsuo Basho

Trans Sam Hamill

isbd-1-57062-716-9

3)The Gay Genius

Lin Yutang ( Any thing from Lin Yutang) esp "The Importance of
Living".

sbn 8371-4715-8

4) The Anatomy of Bibliomania

Holbrook Jackson

isbn 0-913720-704

5) Lord Foul

Stephen R. Donaldson

isbn-0-345-929658-3

" There is no hope for the Land" O yea??

Bill

--
Garden Shade Zone 5 S Jersey USA in a Japanese Jungle Manner.39.6376 -75.0208
This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

fresh~horses said:

What 5 books do you recommend others read? Sci, or not, published
anytime.

(1) Holy Bible

(2) Holy Quran

(3) The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

(4) The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

(5) The Germ Handbook by Dr. Leslie Dauphin
Link to buying her book is at http://tinyurl.com/cm58j

Would be more than happy to "glow" and chat about this and other things
like cardiology, diabetes and nutrition that interest those following
this thread here during the next on-line chat (12/08/05):

http://tinyurl.com/cpayh

For those who are put off by the signature, my advance apologies for how
the LORD has reshaped me:

http://tinyurl.com/bgfqt

In Christ's love always,

Andrew
http://tinyurl.com/b6xwk

coincidence : I've just discovered Wallace Stevens

(I read a poem from the book now and then..
he hassn't disappointed me ! )

In article <[email hidden]>,

William Wagner said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

fresh~horses said:

What 5 books do you recommend others read? Sci, or not, published
anytime.

I've got a philosophical bent with oriental flavor. Wallace Stevens
sold insurance. Not mentioned Kathleen Raine ("The inner Journey of
the Poet"😉or Gary Snyder ( "The Real Work"😉. 😉))

This response is not to say think like this but to say wow look how us
humans can think. See good make it your own otherwise let it pass.
I like off topic stuff in a venue of folks dealing with similar issues.
Heart and health stuff at this time.

3)The Gay Genius

Lin Yutang ( Any thing from Lin Yutang) esp "The Importance of
Living".

sbn 8371-4715-8

"The Wisdom of Laotse" is an excellent translation also, though
unfortunately out of print.

Quoted message said:

5) Lord Foul

Stephen R. Donaldson

isbn-0-345-929658-3

" There is no hope for the Land" O yea??

I think you mean "Lord Foul's Bane." Boy, that's a tough call. If
you take all the similes out of Donaldson's writing, the book would
be about 2/3 as long, and it's very hard to root for an anti-hero
over the course of an entire novel.

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net
These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct.
"If you can't say something nice, then sit next to me."
-- Alice Roosevelt Longworth

In article <[email hidden]>,

(David Wright) said:

I think you mean "Lord Foul's Bane." Boy, that's a tough call. If
you take all the similes out of Donaldson's writing, the book would
be about 2/3 as long, and it's very hard to root for an anti-hero
over the course of an entire novel.

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net
These are my opinions only, but they're almost always correct.
"If you can't say something nice, then sit next to me."
-- Alice Roosevelt Longworth

I fell in love with Foam Follower and saw Raver's in my world too.
So bought and read all 6 or 8 books in the series and wish Spielberg
would also. Was the only fantasy series that stuck a cord me real
hard besides "Ecotopia".

Bill

--
Garden Shade Zone 5 S Jersey USA in a Japanese Jungle Manner.39.6376 -75.0208
This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

fresh~horses said:

What 5 books do you recommend others read? Sci, or not, published
anytime.

Well, that is rather broad! I maintain a book list, mainly aimed at
general reading in science. A quick pass thru it, and I pulled the
following books, all from 2001-4. I thought of trying to trim it to
the 5 you asked for, but why bother? The simple story is that I think
these are 10 good recent books, broadly in science, most in biology.

Paul Berg & Maxine Singer, George Beadle - An uncommon farmer;
subtitled "The emergence of genetics in the 20th century". 2003.
George Beadle received the Nobel Prize for enunciating the principle
of one gene-one protein. His career bridged the eras of classical and
molecular genetics. This book, by two eminent molecular biologists,
captures not only the essence of the science, but the flavor of that
era of science. After the bulk of his career as an active scientist,
Beadle became an administrator (Chairman of Biology at Caltech, then
President of the University of Chicago), so he dealt with issues of
the development of science post WWII -- and with the issues of the
McCarthy era. The book is not too technical, and should largely be
accessible to those interested in the era, but less concerned with
scientific details. Yet it should also appeal to those who know the
science well, because of its insights into the man and the times.

T Eisner, For Love of Insects. 2003. Eisner is a chemical ecologist
who studies insects -- in the loose sense of the word, including other
CCT (creepy, crawly things) such as spiders and millipedes. So this is
a book about the roles of chemical signals in the lives of insects --
as defensive agents and as attractants, say for mating. Eisner is a
good story teller -- and scientist. He talks of the behavior of the
insects, and how chemical aspects of the behavior were elucidated. He
describes generally the scientific processes, from original
observations through structural studies and experimental tests, but
one rarely gets bogged down in detail; the insects are the central
players at all times. Each of the ten fairly long chapters has a
theme, of a type of signal, but each chapter consists of a series of
short vignettes which can be read more or less independently.
Generously illustrated, both with photos and drawings. If you are
fascinated by insects, you'll love this book. If you feel otherwise
about the little bugs, give Eisner a try; I wouldn't be surprised if
he converts you.

H Gest, Microbes - An invisible universe. 2003. This nice little book
was originally written for a college course to introduce microbiology
to nonscientists. It succeeds; I recommend it highly. It has a
reasonable dose of history, but most importantly describes the range
of microbes and their many roles. It is certainly not a "DNA book"; it
provides an important perspective on microbes as organisms.

J Prebble & B Weber, Wandering in the Gardens of the Mind - Peter
Mitchell and the making of Glynn. 2003. Peter Mitchell is the
biochemist who developed the chemiosmotic model, which proposed that
the energy from the mitochondrial electron transport chain is used to
form a proton gradient, which then drives ATP formation. He received
the 1978 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this work. Mitchell is also
known as a maverick scientist, who found academia too constraining --
and therefore organized his own research institute. This book has
three themes: a biography of Mitchell, the development of the
chemiosmotic model, and the story of Glynn, a small private research
institute. It succeeds admirably in its portrait of Mitchell. There
are many scientific styles and personalities; the book reveals much
about Mitchell the scientist, for better and worse. One of the
intriguing points of the story is Mitchell's reliance on theory over
data. The old quip, "If the data doesn't fit the theory, throw out the
data" is so appropriate here -- for a good reason: the field of energy
transduction in oxidative phosphorylation was an experimental
nightmare, with much contradictory data. Those generally familiar with
the chemiosmotic model should find the historical development
interesting. Those not familiar with it may or may not figure it out
from this book, but that does not really detract from the book's value
in presenting the Mitchell and Glynn stories. As to the Glynn story,
it is an unusual one in modern science, not likely to be repeated.
Perhaps it should be! The book at least documents the Glynn story.
Alone, that probably is not of great interest to most. The main value
of this book is for learning about a remarkable and complex scientist,
and the ups and downs of a revolutionary idea in biochemistry. It
should be essential reading for those interested in the chemiosmosis
story; beyond that, it is accessible and useful to a wide range of
scientists, though the non-biologists may browse some of the more
technical parts and simply appreciate a fascinating story of how
science works.

J D Watson (with A Berry), DNA - The Secret of Life. 2003. Watson has
played a major role in the DNA story, most famously as co-discoverer
of the DNA double helical structure and as the first head of the US
Human Genome Project. Here he discusses the history and future of the
human genome project. He is a fine writer -- clear, and provocative
enough to be fun. This book is for the general public. The science in
it is good, and well-explained, with helpful artwork. The history is
broadly good. And it is Watson's style to tell you what he thinks
about controversial issues; agree or disagree, he makes for lively
reading. For two -- very different -- reviews: Lindee, Science
300:432, 4/18/03; Singer, Nature 422:809, 4/24/03. Lindee concludes
that "[Watson's] latest promotional brochure is not worth anyone's
time." Singer says that the public and even scientists "can learn a
great deal from the book, and enjoy doing so." I recommend it --
without endorsing all of his opinions.

P Yam, The Pathological Protein: Mad cow, chronic wasting, and other
deadly prion diseases. 2003. An excellent overview of the prion story,
for the general audience, from a science journalist. This book
presents the range of prion diseases, in animals and humans, and the
relationships between them. It develops our current understanding of
what prions are and how they work, with a good consideration of
uncertainties in the story. A good place to start, if you want to know
what prions are about; probably a good overview for many scientists,
as it brings together a lot of information into one fairly short and
very readable book.

A Linklater, Measuring America -- How an untamed wilderness shaped
the United States and fulfilled the promise of democracy. 2002. A book
about why the US should have but did not adopt the metric system from
the start. A book about the history of measurements, and of units. A
book about surveying -- and about Thomas Jefferson. A book that is
surprisingly much more interesting than the short title might suggest,
in part because it is well written and in part because it brings
together a range of seemingly unrelated topics in an unusual but
fascinating way (as the subtitle may hint).

Brenda Maddox, Rosalind Franklin - The dark lady of DNA. 2002. One of
the dark parts of the DNA story is the lack of recognition of the role
of Rosalind Franklin, who made the very fine X-ray pictures that
Watson & Crick used as part of developing the double-helix structure.
This lack of recognition was magnified by Watson's poor treatment of
Franklin, especially in his earlier book, The Double Helix. Brenda
Maddox's new biography has received wide praise as being fair and
accurate; she had access to many materials that were previously
unavailable. This is a biography, not a science book -- though you
will certainly get a good sense of how the DNA story was developed.
Highly recommended, but don't expect to come away declaring winners
and losers; it's not that simple, but it is a good story, and it
certainly enhances our understanding of an important scientist. (One
part of the controversy, to some, is why Franklin did not share in the
Nobel prize for the DNA work. It is a sufficient answer to that
question that she died a few years before the DNA Nobel, 1962;
posthumous Nobels are not allowed. Note that this point does not
address the merits of her contributions, but does address one question
which often comes to the forefront.)

D Charles, Lords of the harvest - Biotech, big money, and the future
of food. 2001. A journalist tells the story of "GMOs" -- the
application of biotechnology to agriculture. The book is intended for
the general audience, and avoids scientific detail while presenting
all the basic logic. The book is widely regarded as being a fair
presentation of a range of views on the subject. I enjoyed reading it.
O Sacks, Uncle Tungsten - Memories of a chemical boyhood. Knopf,
2001. Neuroscientist Oliver Sacks, already well established as a
gifted writer for the general audience, here recounts his childhood --
and a good deal of chemical history. The book is delightfully written
and the chem is at about the right level for intro chem students.
Highly recommended.

The list is at
http://www.geocities.com/b_bruner/book_sug.htm

bob

"Bob" <[email hidden]> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Brenda Maddox, Rosalind Franklin - The dark lady of DNA. 2002.

Not to forget the classic "The double Helix" by Watson!

MMu said:

"Bob" <[email hidden]> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Brenda Maddox, Rosalind Franklin - The dark lady of DNA. 2002.

Not to forget the classic "The double Helix" by Watson!

It is fashionable to be offended by that book -- and that is not
necessarily unreasonable. I do hope that any prejudice people have
about it does not keep them away from the newer Watson book I listed.
They are very different books. The older one is one person's view of a
history, but the new one is on issues of current importance. Watson’s
lively writing style is good for discussing the genome --
independently of whether one wants to agree with him on any specific
point. (Some have suggested that his co-author on the new book tamed
him a bit.)

I have taught molecular biology over the years, and often used
Watson's textbook. It is one of the best written texts around. period.

bob

In article <[email hidden]>,

fresh~horses said:

Bob said:

fresh~horses said:

What 5 books do you recommend others read? Sci, or not, published
anytime.

Well, that is rather broad! I maintain a book list, mainly aimed at
general reading in science. A quick pass thru it, and I pulled the
following books, all from 2001-4. I thought of trying to trim it to
the 5 you asked for, but why bother? The simple story is that I think
these are 10 good recent books, broadly in science, most in biology.

Quoted message said:

The list is at
http://www.geocities.com/b_bruner/book_sug.htm

bob

Can you suggest something for someone who has no science? Where does
one start....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Boojums All The Way Through

Subtitle Communicating Science In a Prosaic Age

N. David Mermin

ISBN 0 521 38231 9

.............

Too wonderful to not mention.

The Unknown Craftsman
Subtitle A Japanese Insight into Beauty
Soetsu Yanagi

ISBN 0-87011-352-6

Bill

--
Garden Shade Zone 5 S Jersey USA in a Japanese Jungle Manner.39.6376 -75.0208
This article is posted under fair use rules in accordance with
Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, and is strictly for the educational
and informative purposes. This material is distributed without profit.

fresh~horses said:

Bob said:

fresh~horses said:

What 5 books do you recommend others read? Sci, or not, published
anytime.

Well, that is rather broad! I maintain a book list, mainly aimed at
general reading in science. A quick pass thru it, and I pulled the
following books, all from 2001-4. I thought of trying to trim it to
the 5 you asked for, but why bother? The simple story is that I think
these are 10 good recent books, broadly in science, most in biology.

Quoted message said:

The list is at
http://www.geocities.com/b_bruner/book_sug.htm

bob

Can you suggest something for someone who has no science? Where does
one start....

Science books for the non-scientist? Or non-science books?

It is so much a mater of taste. If a non-scientist wants to read the
science, I think the best we can do is suggest some books which are
aimed at the lay person, are generally accurate, and are
"well-written". But the latter is very much a matter of opinion (and
perhaps the other points are, to some extent). The best books are the
ones you enjoy reading. It is important, if a non-expert reads a book
to learn something new, that they be flexible. So long as you learn
something from the book and enjoy it, it is not a big issue if you
skip some. Most books are at multiple levels.

Many of the 10 I listed are aimed at the non-specialist audience, and
I would consider most of them suitable for general reading, so long as
the topic seems of interest. (The "most difficult" of the books I
listed there is probably the one about Peter Mitchell. Everything
about Mitchell is complicated. But in a sense, I'd say my general
criteria hold here, too. If you already know a little about him and/or
Glynn, and want more, then it is worth a try.)

As to non-science books, I don't keep track of them much. But a couple
that come to mind...

I suspect that not too many non-fiction books from the 18th century
are still useful and interesting. A few years ago I read Johann
Quantz's book, from 1752. (Title is something like On Playing the
Flute; don't remember exactly.) No, I don't play the flute, but I had
heard much about it, and found a copy (English) in local public
library. A delightful book, with much insight about music in general.
I skipped the more technical parts, but quite enjoyed it overall.

And of course, one can always read children's books. I recently read
Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Suitable for kids from
8 to 80. It's much fun, but can be interpreted at different levels. If
you want science, it is about ocean pollution. And it is about good vs
evil.

If you are looking to things to read in certain areas, it would help
if you would be more specific. If you give specific areas, I suspect
more people will jump in and tell you their favorites. Books about
anything is rather broad!

bob

fresh~horses said:

Bob said:

fresh~horses said:

What 5 books do you recommend others read? Sci, or not, published
anytime.

Well, that is rather broad! I maintain a book list, mainly aimed at
general reading in science. A quick pass thru it, and I pulled the
following books, all from 2001-4. I thought of trying to trim it to
the 5 you asked for, but why bother? The simple story is that I think
these are 10 good recent books, broadly in science, most in biology.

Quoted message said:

The list is at
http://www.geocities.com/b_bruner/book_sug.htm

bob

Can you suggest something for someone who has no science? Where does
one start....

Science books for the non-scientist? Or non-science books?

It is so much a mater of taste. If a non-scientist wants to read the
science, I think the best we can do is suggest some books which are
aimed at the lay person, are generally accurate, and are
"well-written". But the latter is very much a matter of opinion (and
perhaps the other points are, to some extent). The best books are the
ones you enjoy reading. It is important, if a non-expert reads a book
to learn something new, that they be flexible. So long as you learn
something from the book and enjoy it, it is not a big issue if you
skip some. Most books are at multiple levels.

Many of the 10 I listed are aimed at the non-specialist audience, and
I would consider most of them suitable for general reading, so long as
the topic seems of interest. (The "most difficult" of the books I
listed there is probably the one about Peter Mitchell. Everything
about Mitchell is complicated. But in a sense, I'd say my general
criteria hold here, too. If you already know a little about him and/or
Glynn, and want more, then it is worth a try.)

As to non-science books, I don't keep track of them much. But a couple
that come to mind...

I suspect that not too many non-fiction books from the 18th century
are still useful and interesting. A few years ago I read Johann
Quantz's book, from 1752. (Title is something like On Playing the
Flute; don't remember exactly.) No, I don't play the flute, but I had
heard much about it, and found a copy (English) in local public
library. A delightful book, with much insight about music in general.
I skipped the more technical parts, but quite enjoyed it overall.

And of course, one can always read children's books. I recently read
Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Suitable for kids from
8 to 80. It's much fun, but can be interpreted at different levels. If
you want science, it is about ocean pollution. And it is about good vs
evil.

If you are looking to things to read in certain areas, it would help
if you would be more specific. If you give specific areas, I suspect
more people will jump in and tell you their favorites. Books about
anything is rather broad!

bob