He鈥檚 looking at clouds
Look out of the window, up into the sky and you鈥檒l spot a cloud. That鈥檚 true in Britain at any time of the year. Other countries have cloud-free seasons, not just the odd day. It鈥檚 no surprise that an Englishman called Luke Howard took on the task of sorting out the clouds, giving them the names we still use today. In The Invention of Clouds (Picador, 拢7.99), Richard Hamblyn explores the life of this obscure chemist who announced his system in 1802. Roy Herbert said that this extraordinary story is 鈥渨ell told, with the scientific ferment and personalities of its times teeming away in the background鈥� (22 September 2001, p 48).
Small worlds
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Reviewing Stories of the Invisible (Oxford University Press, 拢7.99), David Lindley commented that 鈥淸Philip] Ball鈥檚 writing is sharp and 鈥� helped by a sprinkle of quotations from Flann O鈥橞rien, Primo Levi and Thomas Pynchon 鈥� drolly intelligent鈥� (15 September 2001, p 48). Ball鈥檚 guided tour of the molecular world is ambitious in its range from nanotubes of carbon to the slip and slither of muscles, hormonal messenger systems and a futuristic hint of DNA computers.
On the road
From the small scale to the global: Naomi Klein鈥檚 Fences and Windows (Flamingo, 拢8.99) is a gripping account of a year on the road as a columnist investigating globalisation and its consequences. She reports passionately held views on genetically modified organisms, food, power and lack of power. Well worth a read.
Marie鈥檚 tale
Back to the past with Marie Curie鈥檚 Radioactive Substances (Prometheus, $10). She describes four years of work 鈥� so interesting, she says, that her husband 鈥減ut aside the work on which he was engaged, and joined me鈥� to extract new radioactive substances and study their properties. Originally published in 1904, you can turn back time to join her at what was the cutting edge of science.
She delivers a short, succinct book on her discoveries.