Best American Science And Nature Writing 2011: The Best American Series (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
Mary Roach put together a great collection of science writing, including essays by writers including Oliver Sacks, Jonathan Franzen, and Malcolm Gladwell. Sacks' essay was one of my favorite-- not surprising because I love him. His essay is about face blindness, a condition he apparently suffers from, though he spends much of the essay talking about cases of extreme face blindness. Other highlights are an essay on Sea World and orcas (which I imagine is a lot like Blackfish though I haven't seen it), an essay on end of life decisions (might end up assigning for soc of aging next semester), and an essay on same-sex sexual relationships in the animal kingdom and the way both the left and the right politicizes this animal behavior but scientist distance themselves from. The physics essay (especially the one by Hawking) dragged for me, but I loved everything else. Can get this free on Amazon prime right now-- highly recommend if you like science essays. I don't read pieces about physics. Or weird pseudo-scientific musings on religion?There were several pieces I skipped right over, but there were others I really enjoyed. It's a mixed bag with a handful of pieces that stuck with me.I was THRILLED to read Oliver Sacks' piece about face blindness since that's a challenge (disability? disorder?) I've only recently identified as my own. Reading about the struggles Sacks has, as well some of the science behind the problem was... heartening really. I didn't feel like I was just an idiot with faces.The piece about the reliability of medical research was... horrifying, but not a huge surprise. Anyone with a basic knowledge of research methods and statistics can make some good guesses about how horribly screwed research is. Still shocking, and interesting to learn that people are STUDYING this. Other reviewers have pointed out some other highlights, but those two stories were the ones that I found personally relevant and awesome.
What do You think about Best American Science And Nature Writing 2011: The Best American Series (2013)?
An interesting collection of essays. Several made me want to do some more research on their topics.
—Leslie
Nice collection for those with varied interests in science and nature but limited time.
—malubuil
Awesome collection: different styles, interesting topics. Recommended!
—deannavr
A very good mix of science articles. Glad I read it.
—atmv
As almost always: an invaluable yearly anthology.
—mine29
