The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

Weisman opens this book with the following question: "Is it possible that, instead of heaving a huge biological sigh of relief, the world without us would miss us?"

I won't give away the answer, but if you like good nature writing (um, Dad), this is a wonderful book for you. Weisman chronicles what the world might look like if people were suddenly raptured away from it (gone extinct, taken by aliens, you get the picture.) At once startling and inspiring, Weisman reveals the inter-connectedness of ecosystems and explains the detrimental (or helpful) role humans play all over the world. From the plains of the Serengeti to the subways of New York City, you see the world as we know it slowly erode before your eyes. Weisman's writing is often poetic, his chapter titles for example: "Unbuilding Our Home, What Falls Apart, Wings Without Us."

I found myself overwhelmed, at times, by the idea of all humanity erased away. It's a sobering reflection. But at the same time, I was full of awe at the amazing ability of life to find a way. One chapter, about the wildlife that has returned to Chernobyl, was both heartbreaking and inspiring. Although some of our animal friends would fare worse than others (sorry, cows), still others would find new niches and possibly evolve to take advantage of new opportunities (housecats, for one.)

This book WAS "one of the grandest thought experiments of our time" as touted on the cover. Read, and enjoy.

Einstein, His Life and Universe

"I did it!"(as Katie would say). Now I don't need the magic Internet fairy to add pictures for me.

I try to mix up my reading list with biographies now and then and Einstein was my most recent subject. This 550 page tome did not disappoint, although I must admit that I did skim over some (ok, much) of the more detailed explanations of his experiments and scientific papers. Clearly, Issacson understood all the intricacies of relativity and quantum mechanics and did a masterful job of describing it. And, really, I do think it's awesome, but reading too much about it makes my head want to explode. Hence, I'll leave the science to others while I explore the humanities aspect of the individual.

I especially like biographies because so much of what I was taught in school about "famous" people was so one dimensional and boring. However, when I read a good, well-researched and balanced biography like this one, I feel as if I really understand the man behind the genius- human frailties and all.

Unfortunately, Einstein's genius in the scientific realm did not carry over into his personal life. Although married and the father of two sons he basically abandoned the family (he did send money sometimes) for years while he moved around in the pursuit of his science. And, as is so often true of exceptionally talented individuals, the pursuit of their "passion", whether it be in art, music, math, science or whatever, becomes the driving force of their lives to the exclusion of just about everything and everyone else (except their professional peers).

As the book jacket reads, "his success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals." If we can take just one lesson from Einsteins' life, it would probably be that education must not stifle independence or creativity. "A society's competitive advantage", as Issacson writes, "will come not from how well its schools teach the multiplication and periodic tables, but from how well they stimulate imagination and creativity." Amen.

The Demon-Hanted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark

candle without wind
Originally uploaded by topher76.

"All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike - and yet it is the most precious thing we have." - Albert Einstein

On a recommendation from mom, I picked up this book from the library (they didn't have the exact one she recommended.) The title sounded really interesting and she assured me that I would really like what Carl Sagan had to say. What a breath of fresh air!

Sagan goes about dispelling all kinds of hoaxes, from crop circles to alien abductions to horoscopes. He encourages critical thinking and approaches superstitions from a scientific point of view: open-minded and questioning. He then goes on to explain why critical thinking is so important to a free society. The reader is encouraged to question the status quo. One of my favorite quotes from the book is a bit long, but it reaffirms many of my own beliefs (and doesn't that always make you feel good?) Here it is:

"We are all flawed and creatures of our times. Is it fair to judge us by the unknown standards of the future? Some of the habits of our age will doubtless be considered barbaric by later generations - perhaps for insisting that small children and even infants sleep alone instead of with their parents; or exciting nationalist passions as a means of gaining popular approval and achieving high political office; or allowing bribery and corruption as a way of life; or keeping pets; or eating animals and jailing chimpanzees; or criminalizing the use of euphoriants by adults; or allowing our children to grow up ignorant."

This book is great. It is easy to understand even if you don't have a science background. And now I find myself looking at the world in a slightly different, questioning way. Carl Sagan is now one of my heroes (along with Thomas Jefferson...it's a small list.) Mom, dad, I'm sure you'd both love it. Becky, I think you might really like it to if you're in the mood for non-fiction. Read this book.

Why I'm a Vegetarian (again...)

pig bliss
Originally uploaded by deborah lattimore.

My most recent conversion to vegetarianism was spurred by mom's awesome recommendation of "The Family That Couldn't Sleep." The book was really eye-opening, discussing different kinds of prion diseases. Some are inherited, some come from unknown origins, and some come from infected animal meat. Fun! I never really knew what Mad Cow Disease was before reading that book, so I also didn't realize why I really needed to care about it. Well now I do. And now I don't eat meat. But then, after my eyes were opened a bit, I decided to tackle...

Jane Goodall's "Harvest for Hope: A Guide for Mindful Eating." Wow! I figured, if I'm going to eat healthier, avoid Mad Cow, stuff like that, I might as well know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. Because, honestly, I don't think it's always wrong to eat meat. But the system we have now, i.e. factory farming, is so inhumane. However, I didn't realize the implications of so many of my personal food choices. This book tackles GMOs (genetically modified organisms), local food, organic labels, factory farming, egg labeling, the difference between cage free and free range eggs, etc. Basically, it covers all kinds of things I'd never even considered before and made me really think about my food choices...so then I was totally confused. Was it okay to eat anything? (apparently my vegetarian choices at the local grocery store are laden with pesticides and promote soil erosion and the destruction of small family farmers!) So, in a final attempt to find something I could feel good about eating, I checked out...

Peter Singer and Jim Mason's "The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter." Peter Singer wrote "Animal Liberation" back in the 70's. Although I've never read it myself, I know it was one of the first "animal rights" books on the market and revealed the truth about factory farming. So, of course, I knew this book would be a bit slanted. However, I felt like he gave a really fair review of three different dietary choices: the traditional American diet (meat and potatoes), the conscientious omnivore diet (organic meat and veggies,) and a vegan diet (no animal products, not necessarily organic.) I like the way he compares the diets and follows some food from each diet back to the farmer who raised or grew it. You get to see how different foods are packaged, and he explores the ethical dimensions of each choice. Basically, he made me feel better about shopping at Wal-Mart for organic food (vegetarian in my case.) I will go to local farmers markets for fresh veggies and fruits when they are in season and eat organic for as much of the rest of the food as I can. And if Nathan needs the occasional free-range, organic chicken, I won't feel like a major hypocrite if I eat some too.

I'm not sure if the rest of you are ready to tackle any of these food issues, but if you are, I'd recommend either of these books. And really, though this may seem boring to you, your daily choices DO matter and reflect your ethics. What do you care about? As Albert Einstein said: "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

The Family That Couldn't Sleep by D.T. Max

Okay, here's another one that will make you think twice before biting into that burger! This was a Christmas gift from Mark and I "devoured" it (no pun intended) within a week.

The author traces the story of fatal familial insomnia (FFI) back to a Venetian family in the 1700s. The family suffered from a inherited disease, which strikes in middle age, eats holes in the brain and causes death within a matter of months. The condition is remarkably similar (is it one and the same disease?) to scrapie, which kills sheep and mad cow disease (Creutzfeld-Jakob disease in humans).

These diseases share a common link-they are all "prion" diseases. Prions are proteins, the basic building blocks of life. When healthy, they form ribbon-like structures and fold into specific shapes depending on their specific bodily function. Yet, if only one of them misfolds, it causes all the rest in the ribbon to misfold. At that point they begin to act as infectious agents. Yet, unlike bacteria and viruses, misfolded prions cannot be killed by antibiotics, sterile environments, boiling, radiation, bleach, or formaldehyde. They bond to metal, stay in the soil....

Max traces the history of FFI from Europe to New Guinea to the United States and explains how human greed and ambition have played a role in spreading it across species barriers. For me, the scariest part of the story is that, so far, research has made little progress in understanding this condition and there is still no treatment once "infected".

This is an important book if you want to understand more about prion "diseases". And, the more you know about it, the more you will be tempted to become a vegetarian! This book will spook you.............