Science Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Astronomy and Natural History Connections: From Darwin to Einstein by Barry Boyce

Astronomy and Natural History Connections: From Darwin to Einstein

Astronomy and Natural History Connections: From Darwin to Einstein by Barry Boyce constitutes a highly readable tour of the natural world from the earth to the heavens and beyond, led by a seasoned guide.

Barry Boyce developed his fascination for his vastly variegated subject matter when he first visited the Galápagos Islands and fell in love with the place. He is a natural teacher – his technique for imparting information combines a wide range of knowledge, a good ear for jargon and buzzwords, and a sharp wit.

The book opens as he is about to do something he has done […]

SPR2018-09-05T11:56:48+02:00August 5th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Book Reviews|

The Great Space Race by Jeff Attinella, Illustrated by David Capalungan

The Great Space Race is a fun and informative children’s book by Jeff Attinella, with illustrations by David Capalungan, which chronicles the space race between the U.S. and Russia to see who would be the first country to put a man on the moon. The story begins with Russia launching Sputnik One in 1957 and ends with the moon mission that landed Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong on the moon.

Attinella takes a very important and complex part of U.S. history and simplifies it into language a child can understand. As is crucially important in children’s books, there […]

Marta Cheng2017-07-13T09:40:53+02:00July 12th, 2017|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Children's Book Reviews, Science Book Reviews|

Review: Programming the Brain by Chandana Watagodakumbura, PhD

Programming the Brain by Dr. Chandana Watagodakumbura

Educational neuroscience is a relatively new field, and one that is expertly explored in Programming the Brain: Pedagogical Practices and Study Skills for Enhanced Learning and Metacognition. A PhD engineer and academic who teaches computer science at Australia’s Central Queensland University, Dr. Chandana Watagodakumbar’s premise, intelligently and comprehensively set forth, is that just as computers are programmed to “learn” in a specific way, the principles of neuroscience can offer a useful modality for teaching humans.

Programming the Brain comprises an introduction to neuroscience and its implications for how we access knowledge; an examination of learning related concepts widely employed […]

Barbara Scott2020-08-27T04:03:12+02:00March 1st, 2017|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Education, Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Science Book Reviews|

Review: Evolution on Trial by Anonymous

Although many academics and scholars would argue that the debate over evolutionary theory is over, there are also those who believe that this Revolutionary “theory” should still be questioned. In the aptly named Evolution on Trial, the book’s anonymous author presents the case for both sides, and does so with strongly stated “non-bias.” However, it becomes apparent within the first few chapters that the author doesn’t believe that evolution is true, and the writing has undercurrents of this doubt from the very first page.

When it comes to books discussing the validity or falsity of evolution, a clear-cut dichotomy […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-02-11T09:47:39+02:00November 9th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Non-Fiction Book Reviews, Science Book Reviews|

Review: S3 – Science, Statistics and Skepticism by Fourat Janabi

Fourat Janabi’s passionate and entertaining look at the 3 pressing S’s of this universe: Science, Statistics and Skepticism, is, as the subtitle to this work testifies, an art of differentiation.

In this age of memes and virals on Facebook – which always seem to me to be the blind leading the blind – telling us how bad GMO crops, vaccines and theories of evolution are, Janabi once again pulls up a chair and takes a really hard look at something most people “liking” memes on Facebook don’t do – facts from qualified and independent scientists on the subjects that lately […]

Cate Baum2014-05-05T21:53:42+02:00July 24th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Book Reviews|

Review: Random Rationality – Expanded Edition by Fourat Janabi

When I reviewed the first edition of this book here on SPR, I wrote,” Unassuming, universally written with sharp wit and charm, the first pages catch and you want to read on. Although Janabi never professes to be an expert… ”

In this, the special extended version of his book, I want to take that back. Janabi is something of an expert.

In this reworked version of “Random Rationality”, the book has more meat, more substance, more catch – this second edition elevates what was an interesting and entertaining read to greatness – I cannot put my finger on what […]

Cate Baum2014-05-06T22:14:47+02:00May 17th, 2013|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Economics Book Reviews, Science Book Reviews|

Review: A Cultural Paradox: Fun in Mathematics by Jeffrey A. Zilahy

A Cultural Paradox: Fun in Mathematics by Jeffrey A. Zilahy “What did the number zero say to the number eight? ‘Very nice belt.’” Okay I admit that this is a corny joke. But did you know that the number zero did not make an appearance in history until the 6^th century AD? In fact, the Chinese didn’t create a symbol for zero until the 13^th century. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am not a math whiz. I have to use a calculator for simple computations. So why do I feel smarter when it comes to understanding math? Simply put, I read Jeffrey A. Zilahy’s […]