P365.5r, Day 66

Untitled, a photo by theentropologist on Flickr.

After much consideration, here's today's photo. Go check out the runnersup at my photostream, cause there were quite a few.

19 of 100: Endless Universe

Endless Universe was a very interesting read, and honestly, I'm tempted to buy myself a copy just because it has a good history of the development of cosmology. I've read quite a few pop sci books that failed to chronicle the discipline as clearly, making it difficult to place the author's work in context. (Possibly I'm the only one bothered by it.) The authors' theory is an interesting one, if not precisely new: the universe is cyclic. The 'Big Bang' was just the starting point of one of many cycles which can carry on infinitely*. While the idea has been proposed before from time to time, the authors present it as a possibility of string theory/M theory. Of course, as ever with pop sci presentations of higher physics, my sticking point is that I am well aware I am not advanced enough to follow the math to know whether or not the authors are pulling material from their buttocks and calling it an encyclopedia. Maybe I should go back to school...

*BSG fans, get it out of your system now.

Administrivia: I had other projects going on in August, thus the long gap between 100 Things installments. I am now posting belated reviews for the books I read in the past 3 weeks, so there will be a couple scant reviews, then a return to more reasonable length entries.

20 of 100: Draw The Lightning Down

Draw The Lightning Down was simply excellent. Another book I like well enough to want my own copy. (Even buying only books I really like, at some point I will need to build a library.) A caveat, though: it is detailed and exhaustive, so if you are not truly interested in the subject (which is exactly as promised in the title- the history of electricity, the scientists studying it, and the marvelous devices they came up with) you are better advised to skip the book. Even though I recognized many of the names in the book, and knew the general outline of it from what one learns in physics and chemistry, there were still plenty of interesting new tidbits and anecdotes, and the illustrations were lovely. I can only apologize that this is a belated writeup, done long after I had to relinquish the book to the library, and thus I can't page through and quote any of the new (to me) information.

21 of 100: Cartel- The Coming Invasion of Mexico's Drug Wars

Cartel did not live up to expectations. The author is presented as being an expert on the topic, with an extensive background in law enforcement and counterterrorism. If this is what the experts sound like, god help America. At best, it was a mixed bag. There were some good parts, but they were more than outweighed by the less impressive parts, and eventually the nagging feeling that the book was hastily tossed together from prior work the author has done. (Tipoffs include citing Newsweek articles and repetitive passages.) Quite frankly, Ms. Longmire lost me the first time she referred to 'bad guys'- which was fairly early on. Life is not a Hollywood movie. While I will certainly agree to the proposition that many cartel members are dangerous criminals, the world is not divided up into good guys and bad guys, and speaking and writing as if it were is something children do. The day is rapidly approaching when we can't hide from our problem or outsource it any longer- the author's premise that the violence the drug trade fuels will bleed over the border is incontestible- but when that day comes, thinking in black and white, good guys and bad guys, us and them, terms is not going to be terribly helpful.

22 of 100: Worldly Goods - A New History of the Renaissance

Fair disclosure: I'm something of a Lisa Jardine fan, in as far as history authors/professors have fans. I've previously read her books Going Dutch and The Curious Life of Robert Hooke, and The Awful End of Prince William the Silent is on my to-read. (Amazingly, despite her being at QM- I used to pass by the CELL building daily- I did not discover her until after I'd left London. Go figure.) So I may be a wee bit biased, but I found her approach to the Renaissance- through consumer goods, mostly of the upper classes- interesting. There are plenty of illustrations, so chances are if she mentions an artwork in any detail, there's a picture of it so the reader can actually see what she's talking about, which is a pleasant change from those authors who assume that their readers are all art historians. I enjoyed the book, though my enjoyment was a bit rushed, as I didn't get to it until the day before I had to give it back to the library (interlibrary loan!) I ended up plowing through a book I would certainly otherwise have taken more time over.