Latest Reviews

‘Anthill’ by E.O. Wilson is that renowned biologist/naturalist’s first venture into fiction. And while I am loath to use the word “unique” he employs a technique here I have never encountered before. In the midst of a 370 page novel devoted to the story of a boy growing up in South Alabama, is a story of the life and complex societal organization of ants. Wilson, one of the world authorities on that subject, delivers what could be seen as a scientific paper, in a highly palatable narrative about the ants in their home and how they may view the world.

‘Cool it’ by Bjorn Lomborg is another in the long line of global warming and related books. I had been led to believe by his detractors that he was a “denier”. I did not find that to be the case. He says that global warming is occurring and it is mainly caused by CO2 produced by human activities. He is even suggesting a 4.5 F temperature increase this century.

‘The Prehistory of the Mind:the Cognitive origins of Art Religion and Science’ by Steven Mithen deals with the evolution of the human mind from the common ancestor with the apes six million years ago to the most modern humans who appeared sometime between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago.

The author is a British archaeologist.

The book ’Chasing a Mirage;The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State'’ by Tarek Fatah is about the illusion that Islamists have of replicating the golden age of Islam (800-1350 AD) with an Islamic state.

The dour homogeneity exuded by Wahhabism is the antithesis of the energy and diversity that reigned during the best periods of that golden age.

While the form of government developed in that period served those times, it lacked key features of transition of leadership and political institutions that would have allowed it to evolve.