reviews

Physics for everyone... Author:  Helen Czerski It’s unlikely that there will ever be anyone like him again.  Possibly the most prolific writer in the history of the written word, Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was always my go to author when it came to entertaining explanations of the physical world around us, from neutrinos to galaxies.  I’m (a lot) older now, but I recognized some of the same thrills when I recently picked up Storm in a Teacup by British physicist and TV host Helen Czerski.  Much like Asimov, she displays an engaging knack for deftly illuminating the many curiosities that make [...]

A Reckoning, a Haunting, and Some History Author: Louise Penny In the shattering, deadly cold of a Quebec winter, Chief Inspector Gamache seeks both solitude and a respite from the memories that won’t stop – a recent investigation gone horrifically wrong. Accompanied by his faithful dog and in the presence of his mentor and long-ago boss, Gamache seeks healing among the dead and instead of an answer he only finds more questions and murder. The seemingly quiet Literary and Historical Society, an Anglo’s bastion in the heart of a French city with a very much alive past, seems like the [...]

Beyond contiguity... Author:  Daniel Immerwahr You probably think you know American history.  But what about history on the fringe?  What about the parts of America that don’t fit within the famously contiguous 48-state silhouette?  While most people don’t view them as ever having been part of the “real” United States, places as diverse as the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Bikini Atoll have played important roles in American history.  Presenting a remarkably refreshing take on the topic, historian Daniel Immerwahr digs deeply to unearth the pieces of America that have typically been overlooked and forgotten in How to Hide an Empire. [...]