SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: Without the Hot Air by David MacKay

 

This is an amazing book, written to be accessible. It goes over the UK's energy problems and possible solutions. David MacKay is a professor at Cambridge University. He backs up his ideas with simple calculations, which are mainly put in a section at the end. It is possible to read what he thinks without looking at the maths. This is probably the best book in our library for Engineering. This book stirred up passionate debate. I even wrote a letter to The Cumberland News in defence of it, because I don't think he wants to cover the whole country in wind farms. David MacKay was so keen that you should read his book that he has made it available for free download on the Internet, if you don't fancy a paper copy: http://www.withouthotair.com/

THE MUSIC OF LIFE by Denis Noble

 

The thesis of this book is that biological systems are not strictly bottom up, with your genes dictating how your cells and bodies work. Denis Noble is a systems biologist. He gives examples in which external conditions can feed down to the genes, changing the way in which a particular gene is expressed (ie how that gene acts in the cell). This is called epigenetics. This is very different to the popular interpretation of Neo-Darwinism put forward by Richard Dawkins in his book "The Selfish Gene" (see previous post). Denis Noble is careful not to rubbish Dawkins but he has his own stance. This book is short and easy to read, and it finishes with a quotation from Wittgenstein. What's not to like?

ERAGON by Christopher Paolini

 

One of my friends lent me this book, telling me how wonderful it was. She was right. Christopher Paolini was 15 when he wrote Eragon but you wouldn't be able to tell. The story concerns a boy called Eragon who lives in an empire run by the evil King Galbatorix. One hundred years ago, Galbatorix killed the Dragon Riders, good people and their dragons who looked after the land of Algaesia. No one was left to stop him. One day, Eragon finds what turns out to be a dragon egg. A dragon called Saphira hatches and together they set off on a series of adventures which might well end up saving the world. What I like best about the series of books is that although there are clearly goodies and baddies, the characters are a bit more complex than that. Some people mean well but do stupid things. Some people seem evil but do decent things. So this might be fantasy fiction but I don't think it's just escapism. You can reflect on the morality of your own actions if you like, Argetlam. In the end, you can change your true name so redemption is possible.

 

I'm half way through the third book Brisingr at the moment.

 

Not my usual part of the library, but they are in this stack of books.

THE CLOUDSPOTTER'S GUIDE by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

This amazing picture was taken by my friend in the hills above Bassenthwaite in January. It shows a cloud inversion and her Brocken Spectre with a glory around it. I'm jealous because I've never seen one. If you want to know how it forms, read the display in the library, and even better, read the book. The book started out as a spoof, I think. He was trying to laugh at spotters, but discovered that clouds are amazing. The book explains all the types of cloud and how to identify them. The bit I like best is about the pilot who fell through the middle of a lightning storm. The book is easy to read - go on, you know you want to!

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? by Thomas Nagel

This is a brilliant introduction to studying Philosophy. It is very short - only 100 pages and in big print so it is very easy to read. I read it in only two evenings. He covers issues that go well with the Physics I teach - how can we know things for certain? He also deals with issues that are more to do with how society is organised - how can we say that some things are right and some things are wrong? This book is required reading if you want to apply for Philosophy at Oxford University - such a simple book but such big ideas!

THE WORLD TREASURY OF PHYSICS, ASTRONOMY AND MATHEMATICS Edited by Timothy Ferris

 

This is an amazing compendium of short sections from other books. It contains pieces by some of the most famous physicists. You are not expected to read it from cover to cover. It is a great book for dipping into and reading a bit here and a bit there. I also like the fact that it contains sections about a more artistic understanding of Science - perhaps a more emotional response. The section of poems contains a couple by Annie Dillard, whose work I love. She is a modern American writer in the Transcedentalist tradition who sees Nature as awe-inspiring.

THE BOTANY OF DESIRE by Michael Pollan

Biology again! This book has a brilliant thesis: that you could argue that some plants have evolved to make us spread them round the world and make them successful. It is our desire for particular plants that makes us grow them and make sure that they survive. You could argue that they are "using us" in an evolutionary sense. An example is the potato. It was a weed in South America but has taken over the world. Did you know that tulip bulbs once fetched such large sums of money in Amsterdam in the 1600s that the financial markets that we use today had to be invented to fund it, and that there was a recession when the price was pushed too high and collapsed? One of the plants featured is illegal now because the desire has had big social consequences. This is the controversial bit of the book and by recommending the book, I am not saying that I agree with his views. There is excellent and fair coverage of Genetic Modification.