New Science Books in Brief
Volume Control
By David Owen || $18. 23
"For a deaf child, having hearing parents can be a serious disadvantage," notes Owen in this sensitive study of hearing. He suffers from tinnitus. Combining the science with individual experiences, Owen discusses hearing aids, sign language, Thomas Edison and noise levels in US cities—all in absorbing detail.
Reality Ahead of Schedule
By Joel Levy || $29. 04
This picture-packed book tours scientific advances sparked by ideas in science fiction. For example, Levy shows how H. G. Wells? s 1903 story The Land Ironclads inspired Winston Churchill to promote the development of the military tank. The title comes from a definition of sci-fi by Sydney Mead, an industrial designer widely known for his designs for science-fiction films.
Jet Stream
By Tim Woollings || $32. 95
The jet stream was discovered in the 1920s. In this analysis of its complex influence on weather, Woollings relates how the Japanese used the jet stream to launch trans — Pacific balloons in 1944. Today, the jet stream is very likely to be threatened by another product of human activity: rising carbon dioxide emissions.
Adventures of a Computational Explorer
By Stephen Wolfram || $22. 46
Stephen Wolfram, designer of the technical-computing system Mathematica, offers good stories in this collection of biographical essays. For example, he recalls himself as a six-year-old spotting a bite taken out of the sun: a solar eclipse, something unknown to the other children.
