John Kerr • Dec 11, 2016 •
John T Lang’s new book tackles a tough question: What’s so controversial about genetically modified food? The answer is: It’s complicated. While far from satisfying, this conclusion isn’t a cop out. The staggering complexity of our modern food systems is a returning theme in Lang’s small treatise on genetic modification (GM) and food. His observations and insights are … Read More
Grant Jacobs • Jul 06, 2016 •
Adventures in the Anthropocene Gaia Vince Vintage 2014. ISBN 9780099572497. 390 pages of body text, excluding illustrations, end notes and index. Adventures in the Anthropocene is an investigative travelogue of responses to the challenges posed by human alterations to our plant, including climate change. Her book offers … Read More
Peter Griffin • May 31, 2016 •
If Tangata Whenua, the fantastic illustrated history of Māori from Pacific origins to modern day, is the coffee table book every Kiwi family should own, The First Migration is the truncated desk reference for the office. Both are published by Bridget Williams Books and The First Migration, by acclaimed archaeological researcher Professor Atholl Anderson, draws heavily on the first two … Read More
Sarah-Jane O'Connor • Jan 14, 2016 •
Two people apply for a job managing a science lab: a male and a female. Who’s more likely to be hired and who will be deemed most worthy of a higher starting salary? You might already know the answer to this question (spoilers: the bloke) but what’s behind the answer is what Dr Nicola Gaston has tackled in her book, … Read More
Guest Work • Dec 03, 2015 •
How do we go about communicating that the whole of the biosphere (and humanity) is at stake? Professor David Teather looks for answers in the book Big World, Small Planet in a review originally featured in the latest issue of Forest & Bird magazine. Convincing others to care for the natural world is a matter for both … Read More
Ken Perrott • Aug 09, 2015 •
Christmas isn’t far away. Perhaps some of you are already thinking of presents for the scientifically minded in your family. You could do a lot worse that gifting one of the books on the shortlist for the 2015 Royal Society Winton … Continue reading → … Read More
Ken Perrott • May 17, 2015 •
Tangata Whenua: an Illustrated History won the Royal Society of NZ Science 2015 book prize. It is written by Atholl Anderson, the late Dame Judith Binney and Aroha Harris and published by Bridget Williams Books. The book charts the sweep of Māori … Continue reading → … Read More
Grant Jacobs • May 11, 2015 •
Paul Callaghan is well-known to many New Zealanders as a scientist and science communicator. His little book, Luminous Moments, published posthumously, is well worth while reading. It contains “some of his more personal speeches and essays”, seven in all, apparently edited from his hospital bed. The book is put together and prefaced by a foreword by Paul’s daughter, Catherine. Read More
Ken Perrott • Aug 31, 2014 •
I was sad to read that Victor Stenger died during the week at the age of 79. Victor was a prolific author, writing on science, religion and philosophy. He often dealt with difficult issues coming out of the religion-science debates and was always able to explain complex subjects very effectively for the layperson. In his … … Continue reading … Read More
Bryan Walker • Jul 03, 2014 •
Science historians Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, co-authors of the acclaimed Merchants of Doubt, have joined forces again to produce a striking short fictional work The Collapse Of Western Civilization: A view From The Future. It purports to be an essay written by a Chinese historian three hundred years after the collapse of western civilisation […] … Read More