reviews

Archaeology and Adventure! Author:  Douglas Preston Quick!  Who is your favorite George Lucas movie character?  If you didn’t hesitate to scream “Indiana Jones!”, I’ve definitely got a book for you.  Based deep in the treacherous jungles of Honduras, The Lost City of the Monkey God is a real-life adventure that is sure to entertain your inner archaeologist.  It’s a thrilling recounting of the intrepid real-life adventures of novelist/journalist Douglas Preston, who somehow managed to live to tell about it. Long the stuff of rumor, also known as La Ciudad Blanca, the titular city has been tantalizing archaeologists and treasure hunters [...]

The anatomy of bias... Author:  Gina Rippon Boys and girls are different.  It’s one of the more obvious observations that one could make about the human race.  But why is that the case?  And how different are they really?  Even with the most advanced 21st century technology available, these are extraordinarily difficult questions to answer.  In Gender and Our Brains, British neuroscientist Gina Rippon presents a remarkable exploration of the science behind what makes girls and boys – and women and men – into the people they are.  It’s not nearly as clear cut – pink and blue – as [...]

The Secret History of Libraries Author: Susan Orlean Many of us hardcore bookworms still mourn the burning of the Library of Alexandria, and so a book about a disastrous fire at a library (albeit a modern and less destructive example) seems like it would be painful at best, a little anticlimactic and dull at worst. That’s where Susan Orlean’s The Library Book surprises us. It’s a factual investigation into the Los Angeles Public Library fire of 1986, the one actor/suspect who was never convicted, and a look at the history of the library, but it’s also a love letter to libraries everywhere [...]