"God is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens

Publisher:Toronto, Ont. : McClelland & Steward, [2007]
Copyright Date:©2007
ISBN: 9780771041433
Characteristics: 307 pages ;,25 cm

This book was extremely well written and researched, but when you consider that Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was an award winning journalist then this is to be expected. In this book he took on the subject of religion, and defends the secular viewpoint with well chosen arguments, numerous facts that support his viewpoints with clarity and that are historically accurate.

Mr. Hitchens gives numerous example of how one religion has borrowed from another, and that one borrowed from earlier ones simply to perpetuate the belief system that they wanted people to subscribe to. He does not pull any punches, and this in itself makes the book worth reading.

With examples from history of how the Catholic church supported fascism, and assisted in smuggling members of the Nazi party out of Germany to South America (as well as supporting them in other ways, including such things as celebrating Hitler's birthday). He also goes into a lot of detail that looks at historical reports that expose the Islam, Judism, as well as others.

It doesn't matter whether you consider yourself to be religious or not. I believe that this book is one that everyone should read.

"The Female Eunuch" by Germaine Greer

Publisher:New York : HarperCollins, 2008.
Edition:First Harper Perennial modern classics edition.
Copyright Date:©2006
ISBN: 9780061579530

I had been meaning to read this book for some time, but never quite got around to it. I finally took the plunge a couple of weeks ago and was very sorry that I'd waited so long, as it definitely is one of the most important (if not the most important) books on feminism to ever be written.

Even though it has been 48 years since it was originally published the information in it is still as relevant as it was back then. Dr. Greer's examination of the way women have been, and still are treated and oppressed forms an important historical record for all of humanity.

Some of the references may be considered by modern readers to be very dated. But when the facts presented are examined in a modern context it will easily be seen that very little has changed to any appreciable degree in today's world. In most cases it is just harder in some instances to see the oppression as the oppressors have become more skilled at hiding it, and people today have become so used to it that they tend ignore it.

This is a book that everyone should read - especially by men!

"Every Day is an Atheist Holiday!" by Penn Jillette

Publisher:New York : Blue Rider Press, [2012]
Copyright Date:©2012
ISBN:9780399161568
Characteristics: 285 pages :,illustrations, portraits ;,24 cm

This is Penn Jillettes second book dealing with atheism, and it's even better than "God, No!" which I wrote about couple of weeks ago. In this book he isn't constrained by the idea of rewriting the christian ten commandments, and instead follows the idea of the various christian holidays. What results is a free-flow of stories from throughout his life that both confirms his atheism, and gives a compelling case for it to be accepted throughout the world. One thing that struck me while reading both this book and his previous one is the extent to which Mr. Jillette's moral character has been aptly demonstrated pretty much throughout his life.

As you can tell by the publication date, this was written prior to the election of Donald Trump as president of the US. It is fairly safe to say that Mr. Jillette, has no use for Donald Trump and he gives good example of way as he was once a contestant on Trump's Celebrity Apprentice pseudo-reality show.

I would recommend that everyone read this book (but read God, No! first) and make up your own opinion. Mr. Jillette is a very talented writers, very funny, and has had a lot of strange things happen to him during his life, but they have all contributed to making him the man he is.

"52 More Things You Should Know About Palaeontology" by Alex Callum & Allard Martinius

Publisher:[Mahone Bay] Nova Scotia : Agile Libre, 2017.
ISBN: 9780987959478
0987959476
Characteristics: 135 pages :,illustrations, map.
Additional Contributors: Cullum, Alex 1969-
Martinius, Allard W. 1963-

The book as the title suggests is the second volume of a series of scientific papers that explain the world of palaeontology. As I wrote in my review of the first volume I came across these books by shear chance when I was looking for books about palaeontology for young people - a quest I'm still on by the way.

Once again in this volume we have 52 papers, but in this case they explore the science by going on a journey through time and looking at the animal kingdom and how palaeogeography has given people insight on what the world was like, and how these facts were discovered. In addition they deal with topics such as conservation, curation, laboratory work, and much more. All of the contributors to this volume are outstanding authors with the ability to explain difficult concepts in easy to understand terms.

Here's hoping the editors consider doing another 52 reasons!

As I mentioned before I work in the field of palaeontology myself and give tours of our lab at the University of Alberta (in Edmonton) to school groups and other visitors. It is a shame that the educational curriculum in Alberta doesn't support the teaching palaeontology past about 5th grade. Why this is I've never found out, even though I've asked numerous people in the profession. You would think that considering that Alberta has the riches fossil collections in Canada that this would be something to consider.

"God, No!" by Penn Jillette

Publisher:New York : Simon & Schuster, 2011.
Edition:First Simon & Schuster hc edition.
ISBN:9781451610369
Characteristics: xix, 231 pages ;,25 cm

I don't really remember my first introduction to the duo of Penn & Teller, but sometime after this I stumbled across their show "Penn & Teller: Bullshit" which is a good introduction for pretty much anybody to the skeptics view of the world as it is and how the worlds scam artists pull the wool over the eyes of the willing public by telling them what they want.

This book while it mentions their show and a other things that the duo has done over the years, is primarily focused on the opinions and life of Penn Jillette. I found the book itself to very interesting, not only has Mr. Jillette led an interesting life, but his outlook on that life is very concise and well thought out.

The book itself is based on a reworking of the christian ten commandments, and how they could be interpreted by an atheist. Mr. Teller's sense of humour is outstanding, and entertaining. Mr. Jillette is a confirmed family man, and as both this book and the show mentioned above demonstrate a defender of common sense. In the world as it is today the one thing that everybody needs is common sense, we have been living under an umbrella of superstition and pseudoscience for centuries, and it is time for all people in the world to give their collective heads a shake and open their eyes to what's really going on in this world.

"The Forgotten Flapper - A Novel of Olive Thomas" by Laini Giles

Publisher:[United States] : Sepia Stories Publishing, [2015]
Edition:First edition.
Copyright Date:©2015
ISBN: 9780994734907
Characteristics: 412 pages

This novel is a definite departure from the books I normally read and review, but I had been meaning to read it for quite some time as I thought I knew how much work Laini Giles put into writing it (she is a local author). I however sadly underestimated the scope of this work, as the research alone would likely be equivalent to what some students do for a Master's thesis. I'm not sure if she kept an account of the number of hours research she did, but I'm sure it is easily in the hundreds of hours. Laini wrote this novel in such a way that you can easily believe that this is Olive's actual auto-biography, and once you start it is an extremely difficult story to put down.

The novel itself examines and recounts the life of Olive Thomas one of the original silent movies stars from her childhood in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, her being chosen as the Most Beautiful Girl in New York City, her time in the Zeigfield Follies, her modelling career, her forays into directing and screen writing, through to her untimely death in 1920 in Neuilly-Our-Seine, France when she was 25. Woven throughout this is the life she lived being related by marriage to the Pickford clan which was tumultuous to say the least. We are also given glimpses of other famous actors and actresses such as W. C. Fields, Mary Pickford, Jack Pickford, to name but a few and how they interacted with Olive, and the rest of Hollywood.

Since 2015 Laini has released another book entitled "The IT Girl and Me" which tells of the life of Clara Bow, and is currently working on her third "Bathing Beauty" about Marie Prevost.

"Moranthology" by Caitlin Moran

Publisher:New York : Harper Perenial, [2012]
Edition:First U.S. edition.
Copyright Date:©2012
ISBN: 9780062258533
0062258532
Characteristics: xi, 237 pages ;,23 cm

This is Caitlin Moran's second book and it is just as delightful as the first (How To Be A Woman - 2011). In this book she writes about a great many topics, and also reveals a fair bit about her personal life, all of which are interesting.

Ms. Moran is a columnist for the Times in London, and was named columnist of the year by the British Press Awards in 2010, and Critic and Interviewer of the Year in 2011. What even more interesting is that she has been a journalist since she was 15.

Some of the topics she covers are her enjoyment of caffeine, Michael Jackson's memorial, her use of Skunk (a cross breed of Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica - thanks for this Urban Dictionary, as I didn't know. Okay, so I lead a sheltered life!). Her introduction to World of Warcraft, Dr. Who, Downton Abby, the fact that the original Ghostbusters is the greatest movie of all time (can't argue with that - the newest one sure failed IMHO). She also touches on such topics as the Burqa controversy, chivalry, trolls, children's  birthday party etiquette, the Royal Wedding in 2011 (between Prince William & Kate Middleton).

She also relates interviews she did with Keith Richards, Lady Gaga, Sir Paul McCartney, a slight obsession she has with "Sherlock" starring Benedict Cumberbatch, and much more.

This is a great read, that gives a little bit of insight into what's it's like to live in Britain, hopefully something I'll be able to experience sometime in the near future.

"How To Be A Woman" by Caitlin Moran

Publisher:New York : Harper Perennial, [2011]
Edition:First U.S. edition.
Copyright Date:©2011
ISBN: 9780062124296

I decided to read this book as the cover states "Caitlin Moran is the feminist hero of our times" so I figured she would be a good resource to determine whether I was in fact a feminist. (I have been calling myself one many years even while still being not 100% sure I knew all the ramifications of the term.)

I am now happy to conclude that I am in fact a feminist and believe that women deserve exactly the same benefits as men have enjoyed for the last few thousand centuries.

Ms. Moran gives us a very insightful look into the world of feminism, and all the silliness that women have to put up with in a male dominated world. Her views on certain topics may to some be quite radical (primarily to men who hold the positions of power) but her views are well thought out, and presented with sufficient personal experience, evidence, and humour to easily convince an intelligent reader.

My next book will be her follow-up work "Moranthology" which I'm sure will be equally interesting.

"Of Dice and Men" by David M. Ewalt (Level Fifteen Cleric)

Publisher:New York : Scribner, 2013.
Edition:First Scribner hardcover edition --.
ISBN: 9781451640502
Characteristics: vii, 276 pages

This book intrigued me as I used to play Dungeon & Dragons many years ago, and after reading it I definitely want to get back into it (however this will likely have to wait for a short time until I relearn my way around). The history of the development of this game system, was very interesting, and the author must have done vast amounts of research to provide the reader with an end product this complete.

I thought I knew something about the history of this game when I first picked up the book, but this myth was soon put to rest as I didn't know a fraction of the history of this fascinating (in my humble opinion) game. It is rare to see people playing games of any sort now-a-days that don't involve a smart phone, pad, or other computer device. Dungeon & Dragons was a phenomena that reached out to people throughout the world and still does. It's true that some of the earlier editions were difficult to master, but from the introduction that the author gives to the newest (5th) edition a lot of these issues seem to have been solved.

The behind-the-scenes look at the world of D&D and other similar games was intriguing as I and likely most other people were not aware of all that went on, from its beginnings in the Gary Gygax's basement, the founding of TSR Hobbies, it's rise to be a multi-millions dollar company, and it's unfortunate demise.

I was first hooked on D&D way back in the late 70s. This was back when we didn't have personal computers, and all the fancy stuff people have today. I still have my copy of the "Blue Box" edition, and it's in relative decent shape too. After reading Mr. Ewalt's book I'm going to be looking to get my hands on a copy of the 5th edition, and then after suitable time to peruse the the material I will be searching for a campaign to join. Maybe someday, I'll try running one myself. Who knows?

"The Discoverers" by Daniel J. Boorstin

Daniel J. Boorstin (1914-2004)
Publisher:New York : Random House, [1983]
Copyright Date:©1983
ISBN: 9780394726250
Characteristics: xvi, 745 pages ;,24 cm

The overview of this book says that it is "An original history of man's greatest adventure: his search to discover the world around him. In the compendious history, Boorstin not only traces man's insatiable need to know, but also the obstacles to discovery and the illusion that knowledge can also put in our way. Covering time, the earth and the seas, nature and society, he gathers and analyzes stories of the man's profound quest to understand his world and the cosmos."

This book is one of three Mr. Boorstin wrote in this same vein, the others being "The Creators" and "The Seekers".I haven't read either of these yet, but they are on my list, and will be reviewed in time.

The Discoverers was a fascinating book, and even thought it took me a long time to read it (684 pages of text) it was well worth the time. I believe this book (and possibly the other two mentioned above as well) would make fantastic texts for a history or anthropology class at the University level. Granted that the majority of students might not read them, but those that did would benefit immensely from the information to be gained.

The book is separated into four major divisions Time, The Earth and the Seas, Nature, and finally Society. Within each of these are sub sections that breakdown the divisions into more manageable works. These are sub sequentially separated into chapters dealing with a specific idea.

The detail with which Mr. Boorstin was able to present this information is wonderful. An example of this from the section of Time is: "Part I: The Heavenly Empire" which deals with rudimentary astronomy and it relation to astrology and how it was connected with religion and how they all influenced various historical events.

"Part II: From Sun Time to Clock Time" traces the development of time keeping through its many phases. Including Calendars, Sun Dials, Clocks, Time Keeping at Sea which allowed for the determination of longitude, etc.

I could go on and give an overview of the entire book, but then you wouldn't have to read it, which is something you should definitely do! All in all this was a great book, and I'm looking forward to reading the next ones in the series, however I won't be reading them right away as it will take me a while to digest all the information presented in this volume.

"Superfreakonomics" by Steven Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

Publisher:New York : William Morrow, [2010]

Edition:First edition, illustrated edition.

Copyright Date:©2010

ISBN:9780061941221

Characteristics:xxi, 281 pages :,color illustrations ;,27 cm

Superfreakonomics was a delight to read, as well as being very informative. I had read Freakonomics a few years ago and found that it too was well researched and well presented (however this was before I started writing reviews on this blog). I never took any microeconomics courses while I was in university but a book like this makes me wish I had done so.

The in depth examination of the Kitty Genovese murder was very interesting to read. My first exposure to this tale was during one of my psychology course at University, and like is mentioned in Superfreakonomics it was the standard telling (accounts from the regular news media), and that was many years after the fact as I was very young when it happened. The information provided in this book however sheds new light on the subject and makes you pause and think, rather than just be abhorred by the the bystanders did (or in this case didn't do).

Two other chapters that were very thought provoking was the one on global warming and the final one about monkeys. I would definitely like to hear more about the monkeys!

One criticism I have though is that when you consider that Canada is the Northern neighbour of the United States, and that we share the longest undefended border in the world. It seems odd to not see any mention of our existence in the book, mind you this is rather typical to a certain point in pretty much all books published in America so I guess I can't fault them on that (well, not too much at least).

All-in-all a very good book worth taking a good look at, you do tend however to want to read a whole chapter at once (and they're fairly long) so brew a big pot of tea and go to it. For sake of clarity I would recommend that you only read one chapter per day (or however long it takes, as there is a lot of information to absorb), and then sit back and reflect on what you have read.

"Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein

Publisher:New York : Ace Books, 1987.

Copyright Date:©1959

ISBN:9780441014101 

Characteristics:208 pages ;,18 cm
"Starship Troopers" is a book that I first read many decades ago. I loved it then, and I still think it is one of the best Science Fiction based war books around. Having just finished "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman, I was drawn to read it again, and found the story to be good as ever.
The book was first published in the early 1960s, and while there has been tonnes of controversy surrounding it, it still remains a classic. The controversy primarily surrounds it's political views, which take on Marxism head on, and in my opinion wins. The story itself is set in the far distant future, where the only people with a vote in society (or hold political office, law enforcement positions, etc.) are those who have completed military service. Military service however is not compulsory, and is totally voluntary but if you don't serve you aren't a full citizen. Because of this the world is essentially politically stable, relatively crime free, and quite technologically advanced. Due to the political outlook, however some have labelled this is a fascist state, which I believe is a very simplistic way to look at things.
It is interesting to note that when this book was written (in 1959), Mr. Heinlein accurately predicted the state our society is currently in when he describes such things as street gangs, people being afraid to walk the streets at night, child crime, etc. I'm not sure how he predicted this so accurately, but he did.
The protagonist is Juan Rico (Johnny) who enlists shorty after his 18th birthday when he finds out his two best friends are planning on doing the same. The reader is then taken through Johnny's time in Basic Training, which some have said is overly harsh, but in actually is very realistic (been there, done that).
As many people know Paul Verhoeven adapted this book for a movie back in 1997. I've seen the movie, and the first thing that came to my mind when I left the theatre was: did Mr. Verhoeven do anything other than read the blurb on the back cover? It's true he got Johnny's name close to correct (but not as Juan), but the rest of the story is so totally different that he could have saved himself a lot of money purchasing the rights.
Highly recommended as a great story for all to read.

"A Legacy of Spies" by John Le Carré

Publisher: [Toronto] Viking, 2017
ISBN: 9780735234529
Characteristics:  264 pages

Once again Mr. Le Carré has written a superb novel. This story once again revolves around the the actions of the Circus and George Smiley, and fills in a portion of the back story that fans have likely been curious about for many years. While Mr. Le Carré hasn't written a Smiley novel in 25 years, the same panache and expert storytelling hasn't gone away in this page turner.

If you have never read any of the George Smiley novels - "Call for the Dead" (1961); "A Murder of Quality" (1962); "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (1963); "The Looking Glass War" (1965); "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (1974); "The Honourable Schoolboy" (1977); "Smiley's People" (1979); and "The Secret Pilgrim" (1990) - then you might want to tackle them first however this means you'll have to put off reading "A Legacy of Spies" until much later, which would be a shame. If however you want to read "A Legacy" right away then read "Tinker, Tailor Soldier, Spy" and you'll be in the groove.

While the Cold War subject matter is based of factual events and the world of George Smiley and his fellow clandestine operatives is fictional, I am in awe at the amount of research that Mr. Le Carré had to have done to make these novels seem so realistic is astounding. If on the other hand he did minimal research then it is even more amazing as this and the other novels in the series are so well crafted that they are very difficult to put down even for short breaks.

After reading this novel, I plan to go back and reread all the other George Smiley novels to refresh my memory of all the details. This will however take some considerable time. However seeing as there are likely numerous reviews of these great stories already it is unlikely that I'll review them on this blog.

I hope you enjoy this novel as much as I did!

Publisher: [Toronto] Viking, 2017
ISBN: 9780735234529
Characteristics:  264 pages

"The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman

Publisher:New York : St. Martin's Griffin, [2009]

Copyright Date:©1997

ISBN:9780312536633 

Characteristics:xviii, 264 pages ;,21 cm
The Forever War was a very well written book based on the authors experiences in Vietnam. It was written in 1974, and as the author explains in his introduction as long as you can get past the part where the beginning of the novel is set in the late 1990s then you're good to go.
The premise of the book is that a new recruit William Mandella is one of the first troopers to be dispatched to fight what turn out to be a clone warrior species named the Taurans. What I found to be one of more interesting aspects of this story is the fact that Mr. Haldeman actually did research on relativity and took this into account. The vast majority of Science Fiction stories don't do this and assume Einstein's theory is somehow gotten around. Not so in "The Forever War" as while Mandella's first deployment takes 2 years his time, 10 years have passed on Earth.
Other things on good ol' Earth are different as well, the population is growing at an alarming rate, and this has led many people to develop same-sex relationships in an attempt curb the population. Later on we find that this is encouraged by Earth's authorities, but that nobody bothered to tell the troopers who are still heterosexual. Needless to say this causes a number of problems for Mandella, and he therefore re-enlists spending more years in the service, in ever longer voyages which results in even more time dilation.
In many instances there isa great deal of humour in the story, though possibly not intentionally as at one point Mandella comes back to Earth to find that virtually the entire population in homosexual, and in a total reverse heterosexuality is now considered to be aberrant behaviour and he's labelled the "old queer".
A very good read - not sure why it took me so long to read it!

"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

Publisher:New York : William Morrow an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2011]

Edition:Tenth anniversary edition.

Copyright Date:©2011

ISBN:9780062059888 

Characteristics:xiv, 541 pages ;,24 cm

American Gods was a very interesting story, that was well crafted, a very good read and kept you turning the pages. This is only the second of Neil Gaiman's books that I've read (the first being "Norse Mythology" which was reviewed back on July 17, 2017.
There were a couple of times in this story where I was a little confused as Mr. Gaiman does bring in a lot of his back story from Norse and other mythologies, but this lack of understanding was totally my fault as I simply had never heard of some of the other deities that were introduced.
Mr. Wednesday (who I knew to be Odin) from the very first time he was mentioned was a good character to have the story revolving around (yes, I did listen in my Norse Mythology class at University), even though he isn't the main character (that's Shadow). With the antagonists being more modern gods (credit cards, television, etc.), you get an automatic conflict that produces some interesting twists.
Throughout the book Shadow (who is now Wednesday's bodyguard, is introduced to a number of Wednesday's friends (and a few enemies) who turn out to be other gods that have been brought to North America in the minds of immigrants. There are some strictly American gods as well such as Johnny Appleseed, too that he encounters. The antagonists as mentioned above are the newest gods on the scene, and are what people worship today the internet, television, unending credit, etc. - don't believe me just look around you everybody has got their nose pointed at a little screen.
All in all this is a very good read. I recently noticed that there was a television series made of it, but whether I get around to watching is will be another story entirely as one thing I don't do is worship the idiot box.

"The Ancient Engineers" by L. Sprague de Camp

Published:

New York, NY: Ballantine Books

Year:

1986

Other Physical Details:

450 p. : illus

ISBN:

0345320298

Bibliography Note:

Includes bibliography and index.

Back when I first read this book (or at least portions of it), I was an undergrad student at the University of Alberta. The class I was assigned this in was a overview of classical technology. I don't remember the actual course designation anything but it was a very good course and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

At the time I did not know L. Sprague de Camp as anything other than a science-fiction writer. I was soon to find out that he worked alongside other great authors such as Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov and numerous others who also became famous science-fiction authors.

This book is an overview of the history of engineering from pretty much the very beginning until approximately the 1960s. It was written in 1960 and this therefore limited the author in what he could talk about. In some places I felt Mr. de Camp tended to skip over or at least gloss over some of the pertinent details that led to the invention being discussed but for the most part he gives a very good review of how engineering developed, the people in involved and the historical events that were occurring at that time.

The only major criticism I have of this book (which quite likely may be a minor one for many readers) is that they were nowhere near enough illustrations and other graphical forms of information to allow the reader to understand what is being explained. However, if these were included the book would need to be expanded to multiple volumes.

The book itself is organized by time period, and this does cause some confusion when speaking about certain types of inventions, as there is significant overlap in most of these sciences. I believe it might've been easier to read if the book was to be organized based on the given type of invention and proceeded from the very beginning street to the modern times.

It would be great to see a new edition of this book be published that takes up where Mr. de Camp left off, unfortunately he died in 2000 so it will have to be by someone else.

"Rendezvous With Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke

Publisher:New York : Bantam Books, 1990.

Edition:Bantam edition.

Copyright Date:©1973

ISBN:9780553287899  

Characteristics:243 pages

Rendezvous with Rama, is one of the classics of science fiction. For those who have not read the book it describes a first contact situation in the year 2130 when a new celestial object is discovered in the solar system heading towards the sun. It is named Rama after the Hindu god, who is the seventh avatar of Vishnu.

This object turns out to be a gigantic spaceship some 50 kilometres long and 20 kilometres in diameter. The story revolves around a brief three week investigation by "The Endeavour" commanded by William Norton which is the only ship able to reach Rama while is approaching perihelion with the sun.

The book itself is extremely well written as are virtually all of Arthur C. Clarke's works.

I first read this book many years ago, back when I believe I was in either high school or possibly even junior high. When I first read this book I enjoyed it quite a bit but don't know if I really grasped all the nuances of the story itself.

On my second reading (yes, it took me  a while to get around to reading it again) I found that it is well-crafted and quite suspenseful, even though the characters themselves are a bit two-dimensional (at least in my opinion).

In today's style of writing it probably would not be considered suspenseful or adventurous as authors now-a-days tend to lean more towards battle sequences and the like whereas this story is essentially more of a traditional mystery. I'm not sure why author's today seem to intentionally neglect more thoughtful stories, but it may have something to do with the way everyone today is wired, and on-line all the time (but who really knows as I didn't take many psychology courses).

Two or three books followed this one a number of years later, and they will be reviewed at a later date, as I've not read any of them so far.

"How to Fake A Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science Denial" by Darryl Cunningham

Publisher:New York : Abrams ComicArts, 2013.

ISBN:9781419706899  

Characteristics:172 pages, 4 unnumbered pages :,color illustrations

Alternative Title:Previously publushed as: Science tales: lies, hoaxes, and scams.
This book explores eight common science denial areas in cartoon format, and does it very well. Mr. Cunningham deals with the topics: The Moon landing hoax, Homeopathy, Chiropractic medicine, Vaccinations, Evolution, Fracking, Climate Change, and General Science Denial as does so in a way that will appeal to people of all ages.
A quote from Michael Specter a staff writer for the New Yorker as well as an author states the overall thesis behind this book on page 2 by saying:
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion; however, everyone is not entitled to their own facts."
The eight myths contained within this book are all refuted, by reviewing them in a rational, and logical way with simple explanations as to why they are false and providing the scientifically based reasoning behind the evidence.
While I'm sure this book won't convince the die-hard science denial fans, it will hopefully at least start to drive a wedge into their armour and therefore show everyone that their one sided opinions are not sustainable in a rational discussion.
Another quote, this time from the preface:
"... [T]he universe has amazing and strange qualities anyway for those who care to see them. There is no need to believe in fantasy in order to see the extraordinary in the world, when reality offers up so much that is astonishing." (pg. 6)
Pick this book up, and enjoy it.

"Unmentionable The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners" by Therese Oneill

Publisher:New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2016.

Edition:First edition.

Copyright Date:©2016

ISBN:9780316357913 

Characteristics:viii, 307 pages :,illustrations
Unmentionable is a fascinating look at what the Victorian Age. Ms. Oneill gives you the unvarnished truth behind what life back then was really like. The premise behind this book is that a modern woman takes a trip back in time, and lives in the 19th century, with Ms. Oneill as her guide. She does the whole thing with a humorous twist that keeps you reading, long after the light should have been out.
Many people believe they know what the 19th century was like from watching movies, and reading popular novels, and romances. However reality was much different, as the author reveals interesting items such as bathing habits (pretty much none), using arsenic as a facial cleanser, lead based cosmetics made from lead and lard (that isn't a typo), diets, courtship, what a woman should expect on her wedding night, birth control (or lack thereof in most cases), public behaviour, how to be a good wife, etc.
Now as a male, I was not the intended audience for this book, but I still found it absolutely fascinating. It is true my conceptions of the 19th century were totally skewed, but now I have seen the light. While I haven't written any historical fiction set in the the 19th century, I believe I would like to give it a try someday, but the amount of research needed to make it authentic would be mind blowing. Luckily, Ms. Oneill gives a detailed bibliography.
This book would be a fantastic resource for any writer of historical fiction, historical commentary, science-fiction (for those into time travel). In addition to this you can add students of history, anthropology, politics, gender studies, etc.

"Wonderbook" by Jeff VanderMeer

Publisher:New York : Abrams Image, [2013]

ISBN:9781419704420 

Characteristics:xix, 323 pages :,illustrations (chiefly color).
Wonderbook is another book I read recently on the craft of writing, and it compares to last weeks review of "The Art of Fiction" in that it too imparts valuable information for the inspiring writer, however in this book this is done with what I consider to be the younger writer in mind as there are many illustrations to give the reader further information and reinforce the subject at hand.
This book is in fact very visually oriented, which in my humble opinion means it should appeal to many of today's young writers in that they themselves are very visually oriented. The illustrations are extremely well done, and in many cases make the topic at hand much easier to understand. While reading I wished in fact that my English teachers in school had, had a resource such as this to give us all a fuller understanding of the art of creative writing.