The Best American Science Writing 2007

The Best American Science Writing 2007

Provocative and engaging, this collection brings together the premiere science writing of the year. Featuring the imprimatur of bestselling author and New York Times reporter Gina Kolata, one of the nation's foremost voices in science and medicine, and with contributions from Atul Gawande, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Oliver Sacks, among others, The Best American Science Writing 2007 is a compelling anthology of our most advanced, and most relevant, scientific inquiries. From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review. Edited byNew York Times science writer Kolata, this volume celebrates writing that captures the excitement of scientific discovery and also its human consequences. Tyler Cabot's The Theory of Everything spotlights theoretical physicists awaiting the greatest, most anticipated, most expensive experiment in the history of mankind. By contrast, Manifold Destiny by Sylvia Nasar and David Gruber tells of Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman, who quietly announced a solution to one of the field's most elusive problems: Fermat's Last Theorem. Atul Gawande's The Score looks at the all-too-often painful history of obstetrics, and Truth or Consequences by Jennifer Couzin examines the bitter fallout for innocent graduate students and postdocs when their adviser is accused of falsifying data. Oliver Sacks's Stereo Sue explores the marvel of binocular vision, and Barry Yeoman's Schweitzer's Dangerous Discovery profiles unconventional paleontologist Mary Higby Schweitzer, discoverer of tissue remnants in dinosaur bones. These articles, culled mainly from general interest publications like theNew Yorker but also from science magazines likeDiscover, showcase articles that show, in Kolata's words, how [a]dvances in science have changed who we are as human beings and... are changing what we will become, and readers will indeed find them as exciting as they are compelling.(Sept. 18)Copyright ?Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.From BooklistFrom daring medical developments to dire environmental predictions, from sophisticated computer applications to scathing evolutionary skirmishes, the range of scientific topics covered by journalists has never been more eclectic or exhilarating, nor has it ever been so accessible to the layperson whose knowledge of or interest in such presumably "technical" subjects might have been left behind at the end of high-school biology classes. With so many stellar examples of sharp and satisfying writing to choose from, Kolata faced a daunting editing task, yet the 20 selections in this year's annual compilation represent a seamless fusion of the empirical and elemental. Among the highlights: Stacey Burling's nimble tale of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease; Matthew Chapman's nifty behind-the-scenes expos?of the Dover, Pennsylvania, lawsuit regarding the teaching of evolution; and Gregory Mone's noteworthy profile of the scientist behind movie science. Culled from the pages of Harper's, Esquire, and the New Yorker, among other mainstream publications, this compelling compendium is one-stop reading for technogeeks?nd regular folk alike. Haggas, CarolReview?? readers will indeed find [the articles] as exciting as they are compelling.? (Publishers Weekly (starred review))?These articles are of varying depth, tone, length, and quality, but all of them are interesting. ? (Boston Globe)About the AuthorGina Kolata is an award-winning senior writer for the New York Times. The winner of numerous writing awards, she has authored several books, including the bestselling Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It. Her latest book is Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss-and the Myths and Realities of Dieting.Jesse Cohen is a writer and freelance editor. He lives in New York City.