Featured Book Review
An Infuriatingly Delightfully Complex Bird
When I first took up birdwatching, any mention I heard, any reference I read, any non-verbal cue I perceived regarding the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) – at least when in regard to their existence in North America – was universally negative. “Trash birds!” was a common epithet. “Ought to be exterminated” and “invasive” were two other frequently heard or read comments. No one ever had a good word to say about these highly vocal, seemingly numerous, feisty, black, sometimes iridescent, sometimes bespeckled little birds. Some birdwatchers – more the point, birders – I knew seemed reluctant even to note them down in their lists, as if the simple act of doing so would somehow taint all the other birds included.
Newly Noted Books
Bugwatching
In his recently published “Bugwatching; the Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects,” Eric R. Eaton presents his readers with a method for developing a practice of observing arthropods that is not dissimilar to that of watching birds.
Unnatural Habitat
For an upcoming business trip to Los Angeles, I’m taking full advantage of a very interesting book published in 2024 by Heyday, Craig Stanford’s “Unnatural Habitat; the Native and Exotic Wildlife of Los Angeles,” to prepare myself for opportunities to observe and casually study the native and non native plants and animals I may see while there.
The Princeton Field Guide to Sauropod and Prosauropod Dinosaurs
Had a book existed such as “The Princeton Field Guide to Sauropod and Prosauropod Dinosaurs,” it very likely would have been my most prized possession, and would have increased my already elevated level of precociousness by at least an order of magnitude.
The Inheritors
William Golding’s 1955 novel “The Inheritors” has been added to the list of works available in the famous Penguin Classics series. For those unfamiliar with this lesser known work of Mr. Golding, this new edition is presents a fine opportunity to read a truly engaging story that takes a band of Neanderthals as its main characters.
Biographies
Seduced by Logic
When it comes to the spread of knowledge – particularly the communication of some of the most paradigm-shifting ideas of all time – it is Émilie Du Châtelet and Mary Somerville whose names should not only be familiar to anyone who would call her or himself educated, they should leap to mind as two of the most significant authors in the history of mathematics and physics.
The Marvelously Multifaceted Mr. Newton
Most of us likely first heard the name Isaac Newton when we were in primary school. For some, it may have been in a classroom; for others it may have been while viewing a television program – most likely a cartoon. However, in most all instances, I’d be willing to wager that the name was […]
Life Science Books
An Infuriatingly Delightfully Complex Bird
When I first took up birdwatching, any mention I heard, any reference I read, any non-verbal cue I perceived regarding the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) – at least when in regard to their existence in North America – was universally negative. “Trash birds!” was a common epithet. “Ought to be exterminated” and “invasive” were two […]
Bugwatching
In his recently published “Bugwatching; the Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects,” Eric R. Eaton presents his readers with a method for developing a practice of observing arthropods that is not dissimilar to that of watching birds.
Physical Science Books
Black Gold
In his new book “Black Gold; The Rise, Reign, and Fall of American Coal,” Prof. Bob Wyss presents a detailed and multi-faceted narrative history of the industry that includes the effects it has had upon American society, organized labor, governmental policy, and U.S. natural resource management.
From This Point
In 1964, U.S. Supreme Court decided the case Jacobellis v. Ohio, involving whether the state government of Ohio could ban the showing of the Louis Malle film The Lovers (Les Amants), which the state had deemed to be obscene. In deciding the case, Justice Potter Stewart (now) famously declared, “”I shall not today attempt further […]
Interdisciplinary Natural Science Books
The Princeton Field Guide to Sauropod and Prosauropod Dinosaurs
Had a book existed such as “The Princeton Field Guide to Sauropod and Prosauropod Dinosaurs,” it very likely would have been my most prized possession, and would have increased my already elevated level of precociousness by at least an order of magnitude.
From This Point
In 1964, U.S. Supreme Court decided the case Jacobellis v. Ohio, involving whether the state government of Ohio could ban the showing of the Louis Malle film The Lovers (Les Amants), which the state had deemed to be obscene. In deciding the case, Justice Potter Stewart (now) famously declared, “”I shall not today attempt further […]
History (of Natural History, of Science, of Medicine) Books
Unnatural Habitat
For an upcoming business trip to Los Angeles, I’m taking full advantage of a very interesting book published in 2024 by Heyday, Craig Stanford’s “Unnatural Habitat; the Native and Exotic Wildlife of Los Angeles,” to prepare myself for opportunities to observe and casually study the native and non native plants and animals I may see while there.
A Tour Through One of History’s Greatest Minds
The legacy of the late eighteenth, early nineteenth century polymath Alexander von Humboldt is as extraordinary as the life he lived. Natural philosopher, world traveler, explorer, mountain climber, geographer, social and political thinker, von Humboldt packed so much into his eighty-nine years of existence on our planet that in reading his biography it is sometimes […]
Natural History Books
An Infuriatingly Delightfully Complex Bird
When I first took up birdwatching, any mention I heard, any reference I read, any non-verbal cue I perceived regarding the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) – at least when in regard to their existence in North America – was universally negative. “Trash birds!” was a common epithet. “Ought to be exterminated” and “invasive” were two […]
Bugwatching
In his recently published “Bugwatching; the Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects,” Eric R. Eaton presents his readers with a method for developing a practice of observing arthropods that is not dissimilar to that of watching birds.
Nature Writing
The Almanac; A Seasonal Guide To 2026
Of all the many joys of Autumn, one I’ve recently come to welcome with particular enthusiasm is the publication of the new edition of Lia Leendertz‘s very handy as well as superbly edifying little book “The Alamanac; A Seasonal Guide.”
The Stubborn Light of Things
After my beloved wife and daughter, one of the people who has most helped me to survive the madness of this past year is Melissa Harrison. Although we’ve never met in person, hearing her gentle and soothing voice asking me “Hi, how’re you doing?” at the beginning of each episode of her superb “The Stubborn Light of Things” podcast has more times than I can recall helped me to pick up and carry on in the face of all that was wearing me down.
Books for Children
In Praise of Folly Brook
B.B.’s novel “The Little Grey Men,” originally published in 1942, as it was the recipient of the Carnegie Medal that same year and was later adapted into a television series in 1975, is most likely to be his most popularly known amongst his many books. It recounts the story – as directly received from one with personal knowledge of it, as he tells it – of the last four gnomes in England who live inside an old oak tree beside Folly Brook in Warwickshire.
Meeting Your Local Spiders
When it comes to lists of common phobias, arachnophobia – the fear of spiders – almost always makes the top ten, and more often than not, the top five. Some have even argued that the fear of spiders, like the fear of snakes, is an innate fear – people are simply born with it thanks […]