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Title: The Story of Light by Ben Bova, Stefan Rudnicki ISBN: 1-57453-469-6 Publisher: Audio Literature Pub. Date: 09 November, 2001 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Somwhat interesting, repetitive, uninspiring
Comment: I had great hopes for this book when I discovered it in the store. I had been mildly entertained by a few of Bova's Scifi works and was expecting something...different. I have several complaints, first and foremost being structure. The book is filled with endless repetition as he introduces a theme then covers the same thing a few pages later. The author takes on too much - we hear about war, "destruction" of our planet, unrelated historical stories of scientists, the philosophy of science, book burning...
What I am trying to say is that compared to a Dennis Overbye, Bova is a horrible science writer. The prose has less poetry than a book review and seems abbreviated at all times, quick snippets of data with "info boxes" and then we are off to a new subject. This is not to say that one cannot learn new things. The SCIENCE was interesting, the varieties of light wondrous in their divergent but underlying unity, the history of some of the discoverers and discoveries were enjoyable, but...there is more to a book than one element.
He (mis)treats the reader as if they were first grade students, explaining the most mundane points as if addressing morons. The many attempts at humor fall flat and the organization would delight a maze designer. What's missing is a good editor who would have pared this book about 100 pages. I would like to see this material in the hands of a good science writer.
Rating: 4
Summary: Entertaining, fact-filled, and far-ranging account
Comment: Bova is a master at writing readable prose for a general readership. He's been at it for fifty years or more, and is among the best at making science fascinating. One is reminded of the work of the late, great, and sorely missed Isaac Asimov. Like Asimov, Bova is the author of over a hundred books, both fiction and nonfiction, and is especially celebrated for his innovative science fiction. I have only one small criticism. In his touting of the Strategic Defense Initiative from the Reagan administration and how lasers can be used to knock down ballistic missiles, he fails to mention how easily they can be fooled by dummy targets while failing to point out how ineffectual lasers are against "suitcase" nuclear bombs. To his credit Bova admits his bias on page 282, a bias that came about because he was employed as a marketing manager for the Avco Everett Research Laboratory in Massachusetts, a company that was in the business of making high-powered lasers.
The chapters on the development of photography from the pinhole camera obscura to lasers, holography and fiber optics are among the most interesting. The fourth part of the book, "Book IV: To Seek," beginning on page 323 is a readable, concise update on how electromagnetic radiation is helping us to explore the universe. In other words, Bova gets to talk about subjects he loves dearly, cosmology, physics and astronomy. This is not a work for scientists; instead there is a clear emphasis on satisfying the needs of the general reader by providing a wealth of information about light and just about anything to do with light, including painting, perception, how the eye works, photography, photosynthesis--indeed, even the origin of life--the search for extraterrestrial life, extrasolar planets, radiation, LASIK surgery, relativity, quantum mechanics, gemstones and their uses, time travel, the ozone layer, nuclear fission and fusion...etc. His enthusiasm for solar power and especially for Solar-Powered Satellites, "huge satellites that can generate gigawatts of solar electricity and send it to Earth through microwave beams" (p. 310) is infectious and welcome.
There is a modest bibliography and a short glossary and an index. One is occasionally amused at Bova's asides and quaint cultural references (e.g., Jimmy Durante!). He keeps a light-hearted tone and mixes in bits of toastmaster humor. I'm thinking of the "Hungarian recipe" for an omelette: "First, steal some eggs..." (p. 291) or his description of the active element fluorine in contrast to the relatively inert xenon, as "a used-car salesman who is running for mayor." (p. 271)
The Story of Light can be profitably read by teenagers as well as by lay persons looking to keep up with recent developments set in a clear historical context.
Rating: 5
Summary: Ahh, I see the light
Comment: A very entertaining look at light and its related functions, including lasers, telescopes and other hardware. Easy read without too much technical jargon, in the same vein as Asimov's older science essays. A page turner!
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Title: Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror by Richard A. Clarke ISBN: 0743260244 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 22 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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