The Best American Science and Nature Writing

Brief Description: In his introduction to The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2006, Brian Greene writes that "science needs to be recognized for what it is: the ultimate in adventure stories." The twenty-five pieces in this year's collection take you on just such an adventure. Natalie Angier probes the origins of language, Paul Raffaele describes a remote Amazonian tribe untouched by the modern world, and Frans B. M. de Waal explains what a new breed of economists is learning from monkeys. Drake Bennett profiles the creator of Ecstasy and more than two hundred other psychedelic compounds -- a man hailed by some as one of the twentieth century's most important scientists. Some of the selections reflect the news of the past year. Daniel C. Dennett questions the debate over intelligent design -- is evolution just a theory? --while Chris Mooney reports on how this debate almost tore one small town apart. John Hockenberry examines how blogs are transforming the twenty-first-century battlefield, Larry Cahill probes the new science uncovering male and female brain differences, Daniel Roth explains why the programmer who made it easy to pirate movies over the Internet is now being courted by Hollywood, and Charles C. Mann looks at the dark side of increased human life expectancy. Reaching out beyond our own planet, Juan Maldacena questions whether we actually live in a three-dimensional world and whether gravity truly exists. Dennis Overbye surveys the continuing scientific mystery of time travel, and Robert Kunzig describes new x-ray images of the heavens, including black holes, exploding stars, colliding galaxies, and other wonders the eye can't see. Review Quotes: "Provocative and thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish."Brief Description: Vols. for - edited by Elizabeth Kolbert. Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references.; Avail. in cloth. Table of Contents: Contents Foreword xi Introduction by Brian Greene xv Natalie Angier. Almost Before We Spoke, We Swore 1 from The New York Times Drake Bennett. Dr. Ecstasy 8 from The New York Times Magazine Larry Cahill. His Brain, Her Brain 19 from Scientific American Michael Chorost. My Bionic Quest for Bolero 29 from Wired Daniel C. Dennett. Show Me the Science 39 from The New York Times Frans B. M. de Waal. How Animals Do Business 46 from Scientific American David Dobbs. Buried Answers 55 from The New York Times Magazine Mark Dowie. Conservation Refugees 67 from Orion John Hockenberry. The Blogs of War 82 from Wired John Horgan. The Forgotten Era of Brain Chips 93 from Scientific American Gordon Kane. The Mysteries of Mass 102 from Scientific American Kevin Krajick. Future Shocks 112 from Smithsonian Kevin Krajick. The Mummy Doctor 124 from The New Yorker Robert Kunzig. X-Ray Vision 143 from Discover Juan Maldacena. The Illusion of Gravity 147 from Scientific American Charles C. Mann. The Coming Death Shortage 157 from The Atlantic Monthly Chris Mooney. The Dover Monkey Trial 172 from Seed Dennis Overbye. Remembrance of Things Future 180 from The New York Times Paul Raffaele. Out of Time 189 from Smithsonian Daniel Roth. Torrential Reign 201 from Fortune Jessica Snyder Sachs. Are Antibiotics Killing Us? 210 from Discover Oliver Sacks. Remembering Francis Crick 219 from The New York Review of Books David Samuels. Buried Suns 232 from Harper's Magazine Josh Schollmeyer. Lights, Camera, Armageddon 259 from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Moncef Zouali. Taming Lupus 270 from Scientific American Contributors' Notes 283 Other Notable Science and Nature Writing of 2005 288Publisher Marketing: Edited by Richard Preston, Jr., the bestselling author of The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event, this new collection is a terrific sampling of science writing at its best (Booklist). Review Citations:

Publishers Weekly 08/14/2006 pg. 192 (EAN 9780618722228, Paperback)

Publishers Weekly 08/14/2006 pg. 192 (EAN 9780618722211, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly 08/30/2004 pg. 41 (EAN 9780618246977, Hardcover)

Booklist 10/01/2004 pg. 289 (EAN 9780618246977, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Greene, Brian Brian Greene received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes scholar. He is a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University and lives in New York City. Contributor Bio:  Folger, Tim TIM FOLGER is a contributing editor at "Discover" and writes about science for several magazines.