The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Top-notch science writing covering everything from the 1,000 species in the human gut to efforts to reverse-evolve a chicken into a dinosaur.” —Kirkus Reviews
With contributions from bestselling and award-winning writers including Jerome Groopman and Elizabeth Kolbert, this volume delves into such topics as the 2008 “Black Friday” stampede at a Long Island Walmart; an annual humans-vs.-AI competition; octopus intelligence; lab-grown meat; marauder ants; the brains of teenagers; and the Neanderthal genome. Lively and accessible, this is “a showcase for clean, plain-English science and nature writing and a treat for readers” (Kirkus Reviews).
“This strong collection invites awe, begets wonder, and stimulates contemplation.” —Publishers Weekly
“There is so much we don’t know, which leads us to make so many irrational decisions that we need scientists and science writers to share their inquiries and discoveries in welcoming and lucid prose. Stellar examples of just this sort of cogent and compelling writing sustains this invaluable and exciting series.” —Booklist
Contributors include: Brendan Buhler · Virginia Hughes • Jerome Groopman • Carl Zimmer • Thomas Hayden • Michael Behar • Bijal P. Trivedi • Sy Montgomery • Mark W. Moffett • Deborah Blum • Elizabeth Kolbert • Michael Roberts • Thomas Goetz • Jason Daley • David Dobbs • David Eagleman • John Seabrook • David Kirby • Robert Kunzig • Michael Specter • Mark McClusky • Rivka Galchen • Joshua Davis • Brian Christian
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Guest editor Ariely's selections the latest series installment intrigue and electrify, and the collection, arranged in six parts Bacteria and Microorganisms, Animals, Humans (good and bad), Society and Environment, and Technology intermixes contemporary concerns with futuristic possibilities. Essays such as Jerome Groopman's "The Peanut Puzzle," Sy Montgomery's "Deep intellect," and Michael Behar's "Faster. Higher. Squeakier." explore topics present in the national discourse, like the cause of allergies and their remediation, the extent of animal intelligence, and the role of performance enhancing drugs. Alongside these timely essays sit prescient pieces about cryptography and virtual-but-veritable currencies, the reach of artificial intelligence, and the underexplored microbial world. Collectively, this year's selections present existential questions and ethical dilemmas without moralizing or answering the queries: Are we smarter than machines? What is unique about human intelligence? Can we feed burgeoning populations with lab-grown meat? Unfortunately, Ariely selected writing by three times as many men as women, which calls into question not the quality and quantity of science and nature writing by women today, but the objectivity of those in power in the field to publish and commend the best of it. Nevertheless, this strong collection invites awe, begets wonder, and stimulates contemplation.
