The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004 (The Best American Series) [Paperback]

 

 

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This is an enjoyable as well as very informative collection of essays on science and nature. The book contains a couple of dozen articles on different topics, too many to go into here, so I will limit my comments to discussing just a few of them. But if you're considering purchasing the book, you could look at the table of contents and some of the articles themselves to get a better idea of what topics the articles cover before buying.

I hadn't read a book of nature writing like this in several years (I pride myself on reading the more technical literature usually), but time constraints impelled me to take a look, and I was glad I did, as you will find some excellent articles and science writing here. But be aware that this is not the same as reading, say, the articles in Scientific American, let alone the more technical literature. They aren't at the same level of rigor or scientific depth and detail. If you have the sort of fortitude necessary to stick with S.A. for year after year, you probably don't need books like this. But for the average reader, this collection of essays, and the overall series, is an enjoyable and readable way to keeps tabs on some of the important developments going on in science.

The essays vary a bit in level of difficulty and in the topics covered, and the subjects range from scientific ethics to modern cosmology. One is even a brief (and somewhat racy) bio of Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA, who basically admits that getting laid is his top priority when he isn't thinking about science. :-) It also discusses his often strained relationships with his peers; for example, in his biography he once remarked that he had never seen Crick in a modest mood. His acerbic wit and tongue therefore didn't exactly endear him to his fellow scientists, and after he got passed over for promotion at Harvard, he left for Cold Spring Harbor, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Most of the essays, however, aren't such intimate portrayals of famous or controversial scientists, but they're still worth reading :-). For example, the amazing career of the driven and intrepid Dr. Francis Moore, who pioneered burn therapy and surgery and many other treatments, and often bucked the traditional medical establishment and medical wisdom to create his advances, should be an inspiration to any young physician. The essay on cosmology and parallel universe theory discusses some of the mind-boggling discoveries and speculations being made about our universe there. And the essay by Robert Sapolsky on Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan organism that for some reason infects the brains of more Europeans than Americans, but usually doesn't cause any problems, was interesting too, in its amazingly specific effects on its other hosts (it can live in rats and cats also, but can only reproduce in cats). For those of you who don't know Sapolski, he is one of the most entertaining science writers I've encountered recently, besides being a noted neuroscientist.

Overall, a fine collection of essays drawn from diverse magazines and sources by some of the top science and nature writers today.

If it's literary nonfiction essays you seek, look no further than the 2004 edition of Best American Science And Nature Writing as it showcases the finest nonfiction writing on diverse scientific topics published in 2004, from the psychology of suicide terrorism and the war on obesity to the diversity of DNA and medical pioneering efforts. A diverse collection which ranges through all scientific disciplines to provide only the best.

There are a lot of fine essays in this wide ranging collection, but my favorite is a piece from "Scientific American" by neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, "Bugs in the Brain." In cogent, lively, humorous prose this short piece opens the reader's eyes to the marvelous and horrible ability of some microscopic parasites to infiltrate the host's brain and change its behavior.

The rabies virus, for instance. "There are lots of ways rabies could have evolved to move between hosts." Sneezing, for one. Instead it invades the brain, zeroes in on aggression, and stomps the pedal to the floor. Lots of scientists study aggression; there are whole conferences on various aspects of the phenomenon. But no one studies rabies to see how the trick works.

Even more beauteous is the diabolical specificity of the toxoplasma protozoan. The bug gets eaten by a rat where it creates cysts until the rat is eaten by a feline. The cat is the only animal taxoplasma can reproduce in; so it behooves the bug to make sure the right predator eats the rat. How does it do this? Simple. It deprives the rat of its congenital, hard-wired, instinctive fear of cats. Nothing else in the rat's behavior is affected.

As Sapolsky puts it: "This is akin to someone getting infected with a brain parasite that has no effect whatsoever on the person's thoughts, emotions, SAT scores, or television preferences but, to complete its life cycle, generates an irresistible urge to go to the zoo, scale a fence and try to French-kiss the pissiest-looking polar bear."

Expanding infinitely outward, Max Tegmark's "Parallel Universes" (also "Scientific American) argues quite reasonably for infinite versions of you on infinite earths. "If anything the Level I multiverse sounds trivially obvious. How could space not be infinite?" From Level I this elegant theory moves through physics, with some progressive changes in initial conditions, constants and particles (Level II), quantum mechanics (Level III) and different physical laws (Level IV). It's the kind of article that makes you aware of how limited our mental constructs and perceptions are.

Atul Gawande's profile of maverick doctor Francis Daniels Moore, ("Desperate Measures," "The New Yorker") inspired by the horror of Boston's Cocoanut Grove fire and an innovative treatment at his hospital, Mass General, to embark on a career of aggressive pioneering, is a dynamic, riveting view of a dedicated, driven, sometimes ruthless man.

Austin Bunn's "The Bittersweet Science," ("The New York Times Magazine") is an illuminating portrait of diabetes and early treatment, told through one patient's life story, and Ronald Bailey's "The Battle for Your Brain" ("The New York Times") discusses the pros and cons of neuropharmaceuticals. Other medical articles profile DNA's James Watson and discuss obesity in sympathetic terms of the biological imperative.

Genes crop up in Horace Freeland Judson's "The Stuff of Genes," ("Smithsonian), a celebration of its 50th anniversary and, more engagingly, in two "New York Times" articles from Nicholas Wade, "In Click Languages, an Echo of the Tongues of the Ancients," and "A Prolific Genghis Khan, It Seems, Helped People the World."

There are whimsical psychological musings, like Peggy Orenstein's "Where Have All the Lisas Gone," ("The New York Times Magazine") on changing fads in baby names, Virginia Postrell's "The Design of Your Life," on the personalization of design and Jonathan Rauch's "Caring for Your Introvert," ("Atlantic Monthly"), which is basically a justification for peace and quiet.

"We're All Gonna Die!" ("Wired") by Gregg Easterbrook reviews the latest doomsday theories and

Mike O'Connor's "Bird Watcher's General Store" (The Cape Codder") is a hilarious and informative selection of bird watcher columns, and other animal pieces include "Through the Eye of an Octopus" ("Discover"), a poignant portrait of a creature who doesn't live long enough to be as smart as it is, and anthropologist Meredith F. Small's contemplative "Captivated" ("Natural History") on visiting monkeys at the zoo.

Editor Steven Pinker's bias for clear, informative and entertaining writing serves us well. There's a bit of something for everyone in this balanced and eclectic collection and every piece is well written, many are witty, and a few are as funny as they are informative.

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