This past weekend I made a five-hour drive across the state to my hometown near Scranton, PA. To make the drive a little more interesting, I borrowed the audiobook version of Natalie Angier’s The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science. If you’re not already familiar, Natalie Angier is a science writer for The New York Times. The Canon is her attempt to write a book that explains the most crucial aspects of the major hard sciences from physics through astronomy, and she does a terrific job of it.
In fact, she did such a good job that all I’ve been thinking about since being immersed in 13.25 hours of science love is how much more I need to learn. Of course, I now need to buy a stereoscopic microscope, a chemistry set, and a telescope. But I also need to read more too, so here are a few books where I might begin:
The Joy of Chemistry: The Amazing Science of Familiar Things by Cathy Cobb and Monty L. Fetterolf
Physics Made Simple by Christopher G. De Pree
Biology: An Everyday Experience by Albert Kaskel, Paul J. Hummer, and Lucy Daniel
Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide by Dinah L. Moche
Earth: An Intimate History by Richard Fortey
Have you begun any new love affairs with knowledge lately?
–Wes
How about
Ecology for Gardeners
Botany for Gardeners
In case they didn’t teach you these things in high school and just the thing for summer!