The Wave: in Pursuit of Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean

If you are not afraid of the ocean, you should be. And if you read The Wave: in Pursuit of Rogues, Freaks and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey, you definitely will be. At the very least, you will stay out of choppy seas.

Casey spends time with extreme surfers who cruise the world looking for enormous waves to surf, waves so large that they need to be towed onto them with jet skis. She describes huge ocean-going ships and their encounters with towering rogue waves, freak monsters that dwarf the waves around them. Some ships return to tell their tales; others only offer clues through their wreckage. Casey talks with scientists who study waves, and she relates what we know about them and what remains to be learned. This is a very good treatment of something most of us take for granted.

This book should appeal to anyone interested in science, sailing, and especially to fans of surfing. In fact, to me the biggest negative of this book is the excessive time the author spends on surfers and surfing.

If you like this book, try anything by Jon Krakauer or Sebastian Junger.


-Paul

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury is considered a classic. It's one of those books that you think you should have read. So I tried to read it. I really did. I got through the first 100 pages and stopped because I hated the premise. I gave it a break for a few days and decided to read the last 20 pages. I figured if I liked the ending, I'd go back and finish the book. I didn’t like the ending. The book describes a depressing, alternate future in which no one is allowed to own books, and "firemen" burn books and the houses that books are found in. I did not want to contemplate such a bleak future in which no one is allowed to discover new ideas or think original thoughts.

I guess it is considered a classic precisely because it makes you ponder what you take for granted -- an open society with no censorship. Not all books are warm and fuzzy. Some make you think. This one certainly did. My negative emotional response might be a testament to how well written it is: I was drawn into a world that I didn’t like and that felt all felt all too possible.

But try it. You might have a better experience than I did.

-Natalie


If you like Fahrenheit 451 or Ray Bradbury in general, you may also like these authors:

David Almond (for teens)
Peter Crowther (author and editor)
Theodore Sturgeon

The Greatest Show on Earth: Evidence for Evolution

Richard Dawkins' most recent work The Greatest Show on Earth: the Evidence for Evolution is an engaging and clearly written walk through the scientific evidence supporting evolution. Dawkins is an insightful scientist and a superbly entertaining writer -- a rare combination indeed. Highly recommended.