Adams, Douglas
| The Salmon of Doubt
| Macmillan, 2002 | ISBN: 0333766571
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Before his untimely death in 2001, Douglas Adams had started writing a new Dirk Gently novel. The Salmon of Doubt contains the first few chapters of this novel.
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Adams, Scott
| God's Debris
| Andrews McMeel, 2001 | ISBN: 0740721909
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Scott Adams is known worldwide for his Dilbert cartoons. In 'God's Debris' his is taking a different tack - the book is philosophical rather than humorous. A delivery man delivers a package to an old man, and in the process gets into a conversation - a conversation which reveals the secrets of life, the universe and everything (to quote a different Adams), and in particular the nature of God. I found the book was interesting and easy to read and so an excellent way of whiling away the odd hour or two. What I couldn't quite see was why it should be considered as a deep, life-changing book as the reviews on the back cover suggested
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Aitchison, Jean
| Linguistics: An Introduction
| Hodder and Stoughton, 1973 | ISBN: 0340757922
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When I started reading this book I realised that there is a lot more to linguistics than I had thought. Apparently I had a very 'Victorian' view, expecting the book to be principally about the comparison of words in different languages and the history of how these words developed, although I realised that the work of Chomsky in the last half century would also play a major part. But in Linguistics: An Introduction, Jean Aitchison shows that there is a lot more to it than that, with chapters on sound patterns, the positioning of words in sentences and the relationship between syntax and semantics as well as the psychology and sociology of language. It would suit anyone looking for a broad overview of this subject.
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Anzovin, Raf
| 3D Toons
| Ilex, 2005 | ISBN: 1904705405
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The state of 3D animation has advanced so much recently that it is used in part or in total for many of the films made nowadays. Not only that, but computer hardware is advancing so fast that such animation begins to look possible to the amateur filmmaker. 3D Toons, by Steve and Raf Anzovin is aimed at that market. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to know exactly waht it is trying to do. It isn't a 'how-to' book which would teach people the basics of 3D animation. It doesn't look at the well known filmmakers such as Pixar. Rather it's a showcase for the works of some lesser known animators.
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Anzovin, Steve
| 3D Toons
| Ilex, 2005 | ISBN: 1904705405
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The state of 3D animation has advanced so much recently that it is used in part or in total for many of the films made nowadays. Not only that, but computer hardware is advancing so fast that such animation begins to look possible to the amateur filmmaker. 3D Toons, by Steve and Raf Anzovin is aimed at that market. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to know exactly waht it is trying to do. It isn't a 'how-to' book which would teach people the basics of 3D animation. It doesn't look at the well known filmmakers such as Pixar. Rather it's a showcase for the works of some lesser known animators.
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Asimov, Isaac
| Robot Dreams
| Ace books | ISBN: 0441731546
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Collection of Asimov's short stories, including "The Billiard Ball".
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Axelrod, Alan
| Elizabeth I CEO
| Prentice Hall, 2000 | ISBN: 0735201897
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When Queen Elizabeth 1st came to the throne of England, the country was in a sorry state, but her reign is now remembered as one of the golden ages of English history. In Elizabeth I CEO Alan Axelrod looks at her success in terms of running a business, and examines what lessons her reign might have for leaders of today. But the book isn't just for CEO's. It's an entertaining read, and will benefit anyone with even the smallest leadership role, as well as those who just want to look at history in a different light.
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Ayres, Ian
| Super Crunchers
| John Murray, 2007 | ISBN: 9780719564635
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We all know that computers are becoming ubiquitous in our society. But you may not realise that they are doing more than just assisting current decision processes. In Super Crunchers Ian Ayres shows how much they are bringing about a huge change in the way decisions are made. The book starts with an example of how the future value of wine may be predicted using a simple formula based on the nature of the growing season - and how this is often beating the expert opinion. Now that so much data is available, the number crunching approach is taking hold in many important areas of our life, such as medicine and government as well as most large businesses.
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Balkin, J M
| Cultural software : a theory of ideology
| Yale University Press, 1998 | ISBN: 0300072880
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We are all constrained by the norms of the societies in which we live, even when we want to frame an abstract discussion of those norms. So is it possible to escape from this recursion? In Cultural Software J M Balkin thinks that it is, but we should steer clear of attempts to systematize the process, which only results in another ideology. Instead we must rely on what looks like ad hoc thinking - metabricolage is the term Balkin uses. I felt that the book makes an excellent bridge between the scientific ideas of memes and the like and the more literary discussion of ideologies and social norms.
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Battelle, John
| The Search
| Nicholas Brealey, 2005 | ISBN: 1857883616
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In The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture John Battelle looks at the development of internet search engines. Starting in the early days with Yahoo starting as a list of sites, and Alta Vista as a program to demonstrate DEC hardware, he explains how search was considered unimportant - what businesses were aiming at was the status of a portal. Then the internet bubble burst, but somehow Google managed to buck the trend and make a rapidly growing business out of pure search.
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Bear, Greg
| Blood Music
| Gollancz, 1985 | ISBN: 9780575081093
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The idea of DNA computation is now widely known, indeed a limited form of such computation has already been carried out. Well brilliant gene scientist Vergil I Ulam has secretly been working on modifying the DNA within cells to give them a form of intelligence. When his clandestine research is discovered he faces losing all his work, so he injects the cells into himself. As you can imagine this is not a good idea! That is how Blood Music begins, and in the book Greg Bear develops this scenario of what happens when intelligent microorganisms are let loose upon the world.
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| Darwin's Children
| HarperCollins, 2003 | ISBN: 0002257327
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Stella Nova is one of a new kind of human. The SHEVA virus has altered the progress of pregnancy, resulting in children who are significantly different from what has been seen before. But many of the old-style humans aren't happy with this. Darwin's Children by Greg Bear tells of the ensuing struggles of the new children and their families in a hostile environment.
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Blackburn, Simon
| Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed
| Penguin, 2005 | ISBN: 0141014253
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Philosophers have always been wary of the idea of 'absolute truth', but can one express a reasonable scepticism and yet avoid the 'anything goes' of postmodernism? In 'Truth: A Guide for the Perplexed', Simon Blackburn guides the reader through such issues. The book is based on a series of eight Gifford lectures that Blackburn gave in Glasgow in 2004. As such it is more of a discussion of the issues, rather than trying to give any definite answers, although at the end Blackburn does express a hope that those arguing about such issues will find much more common ground.
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Chatwin, Bruce
| Anatomy of Restlessness
| Jonathan Cape, 1996 | ISBN: 0224042920
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Anatomy of Restlessness is a collection of articles and short stories written by Bruce Chatwin, who died in 1989. During his life Chatwin pursued several careers including those of art critic and travel writer. This meant that he got a look into the collecting habits of the rich and famous, but he was also fascinated by the life of the nomad, with a minimum of possessions. This gave him a unique insight into the contrasts between the two, and in his article The Morality of Things he explores where our acquisitive tendencies originated.
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| Utz
| Vintage, 1988 | ISBN: 0099770016
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Bruce Chatwin had a long fascination with our urge to surround ourselves with possessions. Utz is his story of a man who did so more than most of us. Kaspar Joachim Utz came from the minor nobiltiy in Czechoslovakia. With the coming of communism, he ends up in a small flat in Prague, but is allowed to keep in it the collection of Meissen porcelain which he has accumulated. He has money in foreign banks and so has the possibility of building a new life (and porcelain collection) for himself in the west, but somehow he just can't bring himself to do it.
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Chaucer, Geoffrey
| The Canterbury Tales
| Penguin, 1951 | ISBN: 0140424385
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It has been said that the critical point in our becoming human is when we started to tell stories. Certainly, reading Chaucer's Canterbury Tales shows that the nature of our storytelling has not changed much in the last 600 years. A group of pilgrims on the way to Canterbury amuse themselves by telling each other stories, and even in a work of this age we see the usual themes coming up. Some tales are of far away places, there's one about alchemy - even then Chaucer realised it was essentially trickery - but mostly they are tales of love, or more particularly lust.
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Clarke, Arthur C
| 2001, a space odyssey
| Orbit | ISBN: 1857236645
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Classic scifi novel
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Claxton, Guy
| Hare Brain Tortoise Mind
| Fourth Estate, 1998 | ISBN: 1857027094
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When we are trying to solve a problem, we may feel that we need to put all of our efforts into the solution, and to stick at it until it is cracked. But in Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind: Why Intelligence Increases When You Think Less Guy Claxton claims that often we need to step back and let our unconscious come up with the answer.
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Crystal, David
| The language revolution
| Polity, 2004 | ISBN: 0745633129
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The twenty-first century is likely to bring many changes in the diversity of languages. Three of these are the divergence of different versions of English, the possible death of a significant number of languages, and the origin of new forms of language mediated by the internet. David Crystal has written books on each of these subjects, but in The Language Revolution he gives a consise overview of each of them, together with a look at what can be done to minimise the damage to culture that these are likely to cause. In particular he lists steps that can be taken to prevent language death.
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Dennett, Daniel C
| Breaking the Spell
| Allen Lane, 2006 | ISBN: 0713997893
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C.S. Lewis said 'You cannot go on explaining away for ever', i.e. there has to be something at the root of what we believe. In Breaking the Spell Daniel Dennett seems to have turned this argument back on itself, saying in effect, OK if that's the case then it won't harm for us to go on trying to explain things such as religion. I can't help thinking that he's trying to pull a fast one myself (if you can use the word 'fast' in relation to Dennett's long books). But if you're interested in the status of religion then it's definitely worth taking a look at this book.
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Egan, Greg
| Schild's Ladder
| Gollancz | ISBN: 0575073918
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Egan invents a multitude of new ideas, each one of which would be material for a book on its own.
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Gissen, David
| Big & Green
| Princeton Architectural Press, 2002 | ISBN: 1568983611
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Environmentalism is often perceived as promoting a 'back to nature' viewpoint. However, with current population levels there's no way that there can be any realistic return to the agrarian societies of a few centuries ago. On the contrary, true environmentalism has to accomodate peoples needs while having the minimum disrruption to the enviroment, and that implies buildings which get the maximum benefit from a small land area - that is high rise buildings. Hence the exhibition 'Big & Green: Towards Sustainable Architecture in the 21st century' was conceived, to show how large buildings can go together with environmental benefits. This book shows the buildings which were exhibited, together with essays explaining the new ways of thinking.
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Godfather Publications, _
| How to create a flawless universe
| Ebury Press, 2003 | ISBN: 0091891078
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Some sciences are problematical in that you can't do experiments. Cosmology, evolution and so on - you can't just rerun the tape and see what happens. Or so everyone thought. But if you read 'How to create a flawless universe (in just eight days)' then you can indeed try these things out for yourself. This easy to follow book is full of useful notes from other universe creators, and has plenty of advice on how to avoid problems. From the big bang to the eighties, its all in here. Most important is the eighth day (p67 - 70) on how to keep everyone happy, achieve eternal youth and many other things - well maybe.
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Gratton, Lynda
| Hot Spots
| Prentice Hall, 2007 | ISBN: 9780273711469
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We all know that sometimes we approach a task with enthusiasm, finding ways to overcome problems, while at other times we lack energy and the problems we face seem too much trouble to deal with. The question, if you run a business, is how to encourange the first mindset in your employees, rather than the second. In Hot Spots: Why Some Companies Buzz with Energy and Innovation - and Others Don't, Lynda Gratton explains how such a mindset can be brought about.
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Griffiths, Sian
| Predictions
| Oxford University Press, 1999 | ISBN: 0192862103
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Knowing someone's view of possible futures gives a deep insight into the way they think, and so a book containing essays on the future by well known thinkers would be very important indeed. Predictions: 30 great minds on the future is not such a book. Certainly they have contributions from eminent thinkers, but these are often only a page in length, which is only enough to repeat what we already know. Most of the space for each person is given to a biographical introduction written by a journalist who interviewed them.
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Haberman, David
| Ten Theories of Human Nature
| Oxford University Press, 2004 | ISBN: 9780195169744
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Throughout history we have tried to understand what makes people tick, as well as trying to find rules for the best ways to live our lives. In Ten Theories of Human Nature, Leslie Stevenson and David Haberman look at some of the ideas which have stood the test of time.
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Handy, Charles
| The New Alchemists
| Hutchinson, 1999 | ISBN: 0091802156
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There have been plenty of books for entrepreneurs, giving advice on how to run their business. The New Alchemists by Charles and Elizabeth Handy is somewhat different, in that it is a series of short articles on existing entrepreneurs, and so aims to give an example for aspiring entrepreneurs to follow.
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Hart-Davis, Rupert
| The Power of Chance
| Sinclair-Stevenson, 1991 | ISBN: 1856190773
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Those of you who watch science programs in the UK will be aware of the rather quirky presenter Adam Hart-Davis. You may not know that he comes from a pretty distinguished family. 'The Power of Chance' is the autobiography of his father Rupert Hart-Davis. It starts when Rupert is 19, following the death of his mother. After a brief spell as an actor, and marriage to the well known actress Peggy Ashcroft the book gets on to his main career in the publishing business. As such he met many well-known people and the book will be of interest to those readers wanting a glimpse into the start of the careers of actors and authors who are now famous.
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Herbert, Frank
| Dune
| Gollancz | ISBN: 0575068566
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Dune by Frank Herbert, is a classic scifi novel which has spawned a considerable number of sequels and quite a few imitators. The story is centred around Paul Atreides, son of Leto, Duke of the planet Caladan. The Atreides have a long emnity with the evil Harkonnen family, and at the start of the story the galactic emperor has decreed that the two families should exchange homeworlds, so that the Atreides get Arrakis, source of the spice vital to the workings of the empire, and so of immense wealth. A just reward for moral behaviour? - no, Leto sees clearly that it is a trap, which may mean the end of the Atreides family.
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Housley, Norman
| Contesting the Crusades
| Blackwell, 2006 | ISBN: 1405111895
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To understand the motivations of those who see religious considerations as a justification for conflict it is useful to have a clear view of the Crusades, when such considerations were a significant part of European life. Contesting the Crusades by Norman Housley offers such a view. He considers what might be classified as a crusade, looking at the importance of Jerusalem to medieval Europeans, and at how wars on other fronts were put into the form of crusades. There's a lot of information in this short book, and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the relationship between war and religion or in the history of medieval Europe.
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Hunt, Peter
| Children's Literature:The development of criticism
| Routledge, 1990 | ISBN: 0415029945
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Writing about children's literature can be a problem. Do you try to look at a book from the point of view of a child? Or do you ask what the book does to educate children (a rather old fashioned view perhaps). Maybe you view the book as a preparation for more advanced works. In Children's Literature:The development of criticism, Peter Hunt brings together a collection of essays which look at these, and many other questions. The book starts with early examples of such essays (starting with one from 1749), and so the reader sees how children's literature, and the criticism of it, has developed over time.
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Hutchisson, James M
| Poe
| University press of Mississippi, 2005 | ISBN: 1578067219
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Edgar Allan Poe is recognised as the creator of many early examples of themes in modern fiction. My impression of James M Hutchisson's new biography Poe is that it is skillfully written and has something of interest for all readers. I have to admit that I hadn't read much of Poe's work before reading this biography, but I felt that this was not a problem as Hutchisson provides a sufficient description of Poe's stories within the text. More knowledgable readers will benefit from the new critical insights into Poe's work and how it relates to his life.
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Idle, Eric
| The road to Mars
| Boxtree | ISBN: 075222414x
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Sorting things out in the years after the Second World War led to a great increase in travel, and this can be seen as an influence on much of the science fiction of the 1950's, as well as forming the basis of the 'Road to ..' series of films starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. The Road to Mars by Eric Idle is a science fiction story inspired by these films. It's the story of two comedians plying their trade around the solar system. Somehow havoc seems to follow them wherever they go. They meet an interesting woman - but is there more to her than there seems?
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Le Guin, Ursula
| The dispossessed
| Gollancz, 1974 | ISBN: 1857988825
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Annares is the moon of Urras. It's habitable, but a struggle to live there, and is the home of a people devoted to freedom from state control. However, Shevek, a physicist on Annares, finds his freedom to create and discuss a new theory of time and space isn't what it should be. Thus he goes to Urras, where the scientists show a greater appreciation of his ideas, and in doing so hopes to start to heal a long-standing hatred between the two worlds. But will his actions really make any difference? The Dispossesed by Usrula le Guin is an impressive study of different kinds of freedom, but I did have some reservations concerning its plot - or lack of it.
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Lewis, Michael
| The New New Thing
| Coronet, 1999 | ISBN: 0340766999
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In 1979 Jim Clark was a 38 year old professor of computer science at Stanford University and was wondering where his life was leading to. In The New New thing describes how he then went on to found not one but three multibillion dollar companies in succession. A university project led to Silicon Graphics. Clark only had a small stake in this, so in the early '90s he founded Netscape, and this was followed by Healtheon. By the end of the book we see him thinking about another business. Clark is at the centre of high-tech innovation in Silicon Valley, just as Silicon Valley is such a centre for the rest of the world, so he's an important figure. It's also a fun book to read, so if you're interested in technology in today's world then you might like to give it a try.
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Martin, James
| The Meaning of the 21st Century
| Transworld Publishers, 2006 | ISBN: 1903919843
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What does the 21st century have in store for us. Well in The Meaning of the 21st Century James Martin argues that it may be good or bad - it depends on our actions over the next few years - but what we certainly won't get is more of the same.
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Matathia, Ira
| Next Now
| Palgrave, 2006 | ISBN: 1403975647
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The pace of change in all aspects of our lives is constantly accelerating. If you would like to stay ahead of the game, then Next Now: Trends for the Future by Marian Salzman and Ira Matathia gives a wide ranging look at where the world is going in the next few years.
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McGreevy, Thomas
| The Basis of Measurement Vol 1
| Picton | ISBN: 0948251824
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The history of measurement doesn't sound like a particularly gripping subject. So how well does this author succeed in making it interesting for the reader. I would say that he does reasonably well. A book like this is never going to be a bestseller, but if you're interested in where our system of measurements came from then you might like to read it. In particular if you were brought up on imperial measures you will find some questions answered. What does avoirdupois mean, and why on earth are their 5½ yards in a 'rod, pole or perch'? These, and many similar questions are discussed in this book.
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McWhorter, John
| The Power of Babel
| Heinemann, 2001 | ISBN: 0434007897
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There are about 6000 languages spoken on earth today. Where did this diversity come from? Will it survive in a world in which English is becoming ever more dominant? In The Power of Babel John McWhorter takes a wide ranging look at such questions.
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Mehta, Ved
| Up at Oxford
| John Murray, 1992 | ISBN: 0719552877
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'Up at Oxford' is Ved Mehta's account of his time as an undergraduate at the university. When he was growing up in India, it was his great ambition to study there. Thus when he actually arrived as a new student he was rather overawed by the reputation of the place, and was constantly struggling to live up to what he feels was expected of him. On the other hand he had already completed a degree and what is more had had a book published. Hence this work gives a fascinating account of his life in an elite society, while being beset by doubts about whether it is where he 'really' belongs.
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Melville, Herman
| Moby Dick
| Vintage, 1851 | ISBN: 9870099511182
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I would guess that most readers of this review will know the story of Herman Melville's Moby Dick - how Ishmael signs on with the whaling ship Pequod, to find that it's captain, Ahab, only has one whale on his mind. What you may not know is how long the book actually is - nearly 650 pages. Melville is an expert story teller, but sometimes I got the feeling that he was padding out the book just for the sake of it, in particular the long sections giving various facts about whales.
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Motavalli, Jim
| Forward Drive
| Earthscan, 2001 | ISBN: 1853837857
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Despite their clear disadvantages, the private motor car and internal combustion engine are so dominant in our society that it's tempting to assume a conspiracy on the part of motor and oil companies to block the alternatives. In 'Forward Drive' Jim Motavalli shows that on the contrary, such businesses are doing lots of research into electric cars, fuel cells and the like. If you want to find out more about what is happening behind the scenes in the move away from fossil fuels, or if you want to see what form transport in the future might take then you should take a look at t
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