About Dave

 

Dave DriftlessThe obsession began as a wiry teen.

While the lovely young fillies would beg Dave to come out and play, he was up in his room with his books.

Asimov, Bradbury and Clarke were so prolific that he never ran out of options and Tolkien’s world was so complex that repeated readings were always on the agenda.

The affair progressed to compulsion with reading lists and wish lists and constant strategizing; eventually evolving on to hoarding so many volumes he could never hope to actually read them all. Alas, adult responsibilities intervened and the passion became quiet for many years. Despair not, as the old flame still smolders and lately the graying bibliophile has regained some of the old fanaticism, focusing on more mature, but equally nerdy topics.

It’s rare for a science, nature or history book to fail to pique his interest and he’s developed a new enthusiasm for writing about his reading experiences. It’s clear that this love affair was meant to last.

Dave’s Reviews

Emperor of All Maladies, The

Emperor of All Maladies, The

The Life Story of Cancer... Author:  Siddhartha Mukherjee Cancer affects everyone, either directly or indirectly, and given the seemingly indiscriminate ...
Prairie Fever

Prairie Fever

British Aristocrats in the Wild West... Author:  Peter Pagnamenta When I think of American pioneers, I envision Laura Ingalls and ...
Mortality

Mortality

Christopher "Courageous"... Author: Christopher Hitchens What do you do when you know that you probably only have a year or ...
How to Think Like a Neandertal

How to Think Like a Neandertal

Caveman Cognition? Authors:  Thomas Wynn and Frederick Coolidge What would it be like to get into the mind of your ...
Planet of Viruses, A

Planet of Viruses, A

Wash Your Hands... Author:  Carl Zimmer What defines life?  The discussion has gone on for millennia, but ever since their ...
Violinist's Thumb, The

Violinist’s Thumb, The

The Molecule of Life... Author:  Sam Kean It used to be so mysterious, but everybody now knows that our DNA ...
Columbus:  The Four Voyages

Columbus: The Four Voyages

Hero, Villain or Just Incompetent? Author:  Laurence Bergreen He’s one of the most honored individuals in the pantheon of American ...
Undead, The

Undead, The

Morbid Ruminations... Author:  Dick Teresi An aging journalist, Dick Teresi is going to die, just like the rest of us.  ...
ANTI-CHRISTmas Reading List 2012

ANTI-CHRISTmas Reading List 2012

Keep the Saturn in Saturnalia! Maybe you’re like me.  I’m perfectly happy to admit that we all need a way ...
Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Rationality as Illusion... Author:  Daniel Kahneman Despite what you see on TV or read in the newspaper, humans are generally ...
Skulls

Skulls

Hoarder of Heads... Author:  Simon Winchester Photographer:  Nick Mann It’s ok to admit it.   You’ve always wondered what the skull ...
Ninth, The

Ninth, The

A Musical Trip to Vienna, 1824... Author:  Harvey Sachs Time travel may never exist, but it’s still fun to imagine ...
Spillover

Spillover

The Next Human Pandemic? Author: David Quammen Plenty of people have considered humankind’s demise.  A rare month goes by when ...
Elliot Allagash

Elliot Allagash

Teen Drama with an Evil Twist... Author:  Simon Rich A wimpy, overweight, self-conscious eighth grade boy – bullied by the ...
Periodic Tales cover

Periodic Tales

Chemistry is Everywhere... Author:  Hugh Aldersey-Williams Do you like to read about science?  Does the fact that Argentina is named ...
Day the World Discovered the Sun, The

Day the World Discovered the Sun, The

Measuring the Universe... Author:  Mark Anderson In its perfect form, science isn’t supposed to be competitive.  But human nature frequently ...
Trilobites!

Trilobites!

Ancient Horror from the Depths...  Author:  Kenneth Gass It may have been quite some time since you’ve been reminded of ...
Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms

Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms

The Living Ancients... Author:  Richard Fortey Acclaimed author and paleontologist Richard Fortey has chosen a new way to travel back ...
The Planet in a Pebble

Planet in a Pebble, The

Every Rock Has a Story... Author:  Jan Zalasiewicz Slate rock.   Maybe some of the most boring words in the English ...
Hello, Goodbye, Hello

Hello, Goodbye, Hello

101 Meetings in a Circle... Author:  Craig Brown There are 101 famous people in this book.  Most of them never ...