A review by emmyreading
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008 by Tim Folger, Jerome Groopman
3.0
I'm a big big fan of the best american science and nature writing compilations. I look forward to them each year. This year's book was simply disappointing. The most interesting essay is "The Interpreter" which was previously published in the New Yorker, and which I read in that magazine earlier this year. That article is about an amazonian tribe called the pirahan, who's number system and grammar are extremely unique. "The Interpreter" is fascinating: multi-dimensional, expertly written, and smart.
I would say the book is worth reading just for that essay, but that article is available on the New Yorker's website for free, complete with pictures (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/16/070416fa_fact_colapinto)
I found most of the science writing in this book to be uninspired. 2006 and 2007 were full of surprises, and made the reader feel that science was perhaps the most exciting career path a person could take. This year's collection--not so fun. I was rarely surprised, often bored, and overall fairly disappointed in the book. And if this book can't captivate a nerd like me...
I would say the book is worth reading just for that essay, but that article is available on the New Yorker's website for free, complete with pictures (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/16/070416fa_fact_colapinto)
I found most of the science writing in this book to be uninspired. 2006 and 2007 were full of surprises, and made the reader feel that science was perhaps the most exciting career path a person could take. This year's collection--not so fun. I was rarely surprised, often bored, and overall fairly disappointed in the book. And if this book can't captivate a nerd like me...