I have recently finished reading two very different books with deceptively similar titles: A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman (1991), and A Natural History of Seeing, Simon Ings (2008).
Ackerman's book takes us on a whirlwind tour of each the five senses, primarily via various anecdotes from the author's personal life. Her prose is flowery, occasionally dangerously close to saccharine or syrupy. Her descriptions of the sensory systems are very oversimplified and sometimes inaccurate, and practically no discussion is given to the history of the senses or the study of the senses. (Indeed, a more appropriate title for the book might be A Personal History of My Senses.) Interesting tidbits of information are interspersed throughout the book, but I found the over-the-top poetry and flights-of-fancy into the experience ("qualia"?) of being sensate too distracting to make up for the dearth of any substantial information.
Ings, on the other hand, has written a fascinating, educational, and readable book. His thoughts about his infant daughter and the development of her visual system provide a bit of narrative, but A Natural History of Seeing succeeds because of the information he presents about the evolutionary history of the eye and the social and cultural history of the researchers who have studied it. Both the science and the history are precisely written in clear, non-technical language.
The contrast between the two is striking, and it made me think about how difficult it would be to write non-fiction about scientific topics that manages to be both interesting and accurate.
Sarah Marcum '08
A Natural History of The Senses
Grinnell College Science Library BF233 .A24 1990
A Natural History of Seeing
On order
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Stephen L. Carter and Henry Louis Gates
Carter, Stephen L. The Emperor of Ocean Park. New York: Knopf, 2002.
Carter's hefty novel (657 pages) is about politics in Washington, D.C., politics in academia, and politics within families. The "hero" and narrator of the novel, Talcott Garland, son to controversial and once influential judge, Oliver Garland, is in a rocky marriage to an ambitious lawyer who, it has been rumored, is in line for a high federal court position. As she tries to maintain a discreet profile, Talcott, who teaches law at a prestigious institution, has reason to suspect that his father was murdered, and his investigations into this possibility make it difficult for his wife to maintain a low profile. Talcott is also ambitious, but is also insecure, jealous, and a little self-absorbed. While Carter has provided an intriguing and captivating plot line, he also examines life as an African American in the academy. Talcott's every move is watched and commented on, analyzed and criticized. Favors are asked and not returned, motives are questioned, and accomplishments do no receive their full merit.
One scene in the novel is amazingly similar to a news story, reported just yesterday (7/20), of celebrated scholar Henry Louis Gates who was questioned by police in his own home after they received a report that he was breaking in. He was later arrested, it seems, because of his angry response to the questioning. Here is the link to the news article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html.
In Carter's novel, Talcott is being followed by representatives from the several people who are also looking for information about his father. The two men beat Talcott up and he climbs a construction scaffolding to escape them. When the police arrive after having been called they arrest the bruised and beaten Talcott as the suspect. Regardless of the fact that he shows his prestigious university ID and keeps telling them that he works there and that he is the one who has been beaten, he is taken away. Later, his colleagues criticize him for creating a scene and for bringing bad publicity to the department by getting himself arrested.
Carter's novel is interesting and worth reading on many levels, for its view of political and academic life, and for its exploration of privilege and race in our society and especially in academia. Get it on a CD (about 20 hours worth) at your public library for a transcontinental summer drive.
Burling Library PS 3603. A78 E4 2002
Other novels by Stephen L. Carter at Grinnell College Libraries
New England White. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
PS3603.A78 N48 2007.
Palace Council. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.
PS3603.A78 P35 2008.
Before writing novels (in the 21st century), Carter wrote books on society, politics, and government (in the 20th Century). To see a list of all of Stephen L. Carter's books follow this link.
Carter's hefty novel (657 pages) is about politics in Washington, D.C., politics in academia, and politics within families. The "hero" and narrator of the novel, Talcott Garland, son to controversial and once influential judge, Oliver Garland, is in a rocky marriage to an ambitious lawyer who, it has been rumored, is in line for a high federal court position. As she tries to maintain a discreet profile, Talcott, who teaches law at a prestigious institution, has reason to suspect that his father was murdered, and his investigations into this possibility make it difficult for his wife to maintain a low profile. Talcott is also ambitious, but is also insecure, jealous, and a little self-absorbed. While Carter has provided an intriguing and captivating plot line, he also examines life as an African American in the academy. Talcott's every move is watched and commented on, analyzed and criticized. Favors are asked and not returned, motives are questioned, and accomplishments do no receive their full merit.
One scene in the novel is amazingly similar to a news story, reported just yesterday (7/20), of celebrated scholar Henry Louis Gates who was questioned by police in his own home after they received a report that he was breaking in. He was later arrested, it seems, because of his angry response to the questioning. Here is the link to the news article: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/harvard.html.
In Carter's novel, Talcott is being followed by representatives from the several people who are also looking for information about his father. The two men beat Talcott up and he climbs a construction scaffolding to escape them. When the police arrive after having been called they arrest the bruised and beaten Talcott as the suspect. Regardless of the fact that he shows his prestigious university ID and keeps telling them that he works there and that he is the one who has been beaten, he is taken away. Later, his colleagues criticize him for creating a scene and for bringing bad publicity to the department by getting himself arrested.
Carter's novel is interesting and worth reading on many levels, for its view of political and academic life, and for its exploration of privilege and race in our society and especially in academia. Get it on a CD (about 20 hours worth) at your public library for a transcontinental summer drive.
Burling Library PS 3603. A78 E4 2002
Other novels by Stephen L. Carter at Grinnell College Libraries
New England White. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007.
PS3603.A78 N48 2007.
Palace Council. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.
PS3603.A78 P35 2008.
Before writing novels (in the 21st century), Carter wrote books on society, politics, and government (in the 20th Century). To see a list of all of Stephen L. Carter's books follow this link.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Slate Article considers Amazon's ability to delete books from your Kindle
Farhad Manjoo. "Why 2024 Will Be Like Nineteen Eighty-Four: How Amazon's Remote Deletion of E-books from the Kindle Paves the Way for Book-Banning's Digital Future." Slate (www.slate.com) July 20, 2009.
Rebecca Stuhr
Manjoo reports on Amazon's capability to delete books remotely from their customer's Kindles. Recently Amazon deleted Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm; in June it deleted several Ayn Rand novels; it has been reported that some customers have had Harry Potter books deleted, the reason given that the copies were bootlegged and were breaking copyright. While conceding that Amazon may have had reason to recall illegal digital editions, Manjoo notes that Amazon's terms of use do not give customers ownership of the books that they download. While not new to the electronic world, libraries have been licensing rather than purchasing electronic databases and collections for some time now (and have been working out agreements and creating third party archives as a safeguard), the idea that there is no ownership of books in this new medium suggests a disturbing ability for corporations or governments to censor material in a much more final way than has been possible in the past -- even through book burning. Manjoo calls on Amazon to revise their terms of use and to discontinue the practice of remote deletion. This two page article is worth reading for all book lovers, readers, and present and future owners of Kindles.
This leads me to comment on my recent study of public libraries, and my early realization that e-books are not a format that is conducive to many readers outside of academia. Computers are not universally owned, and access to the Internet is not in every home nor even widely available through libraries. The lack of funding for libraries and the demand for computer time means that in many urban public libraries, individuals are allotted from thirty to sixty minutes a day at the computer--if they can get to the library during its open hours. It is too soon to say good bye to the printed book, and there are many reasons, including the tenuousness and fragile nature of the digital copy.
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