Books
the history of seismology. Richter was an intensely
private person who originally was more interested in
astronomy and physics than in
seismology. But once he was
recruited to join a seismological
laboratory in Southern California,
he became fascinated with earth-
quakes. Hough details how
Richter and his colleague Beno
Gutenberg developed methods
for locating earthquakes and
assessing their magnitude. The
author describes Richter’s tumultuous upbringing,
his penchant for nudism, and his prolific writing of
poems—many included in the book. Princeton,
2007, 335 p., b&w photos, hardcover, $27.95.
LETTERS
A selection of new and notable
books of scientific interest
THE SONGS OF WILD BIRDS
LANG ELLIOTT
Birds communicate with other members of their
species through a wide array of sounds made both
by singing and by using their feathers and other
body parts to flutter, tap,
and scrape out their messages. In this combination
book and compact disc,
Elliott, a nature-sound
expert, introduces readers
to the songs and other
sounds of 50 birds that are
native to the United States.
The book comprises short, detailed essays that
describe Elliott’s experiences in the field while collecting recordings from such birds as the great
horned owl, mourning dove, green warbler, and, perhaps, the ivory-billed woodpecker. Each essay is
accompanied by full-color images of the featured
bird and graphical representations of its sounds. The
65-minute compact disc includes samples of each
call and the author’s narration. Houghton Mifflin,
2006, 128 p., color images, paperback, $19.95.
OPPENHEIMER: The Tragic Intellect
CHARLES THORPE
Because he directed the U.S. effort to develop the
atomic bomb, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer at
the height of World War II became a new kind of
icon among select scientists.
Perhaps never before in history
had a scientist held so much
power. Oppenheimer’s develop-
ment and oversight of the Los
Alamos National Laboratory
changed the dynamics of physics
research and scientific ethics.
Thorpe paints an illuminating pic-
ture of this charismatic teacher
and researcher and documents his downfall in the
aftermath of his work at Los Alamos. Thorpe notes
that Oppenheimer’s and his fellow scientists’ concerns about the morality of developing the bomb
were eclipsed by their focus on technical issues.
Later, Oppenheimer became a staunch critic of the
continuing development of nuclear weapons and
thus made himself a target of government scrutiny.
The FBI eventually accused him of being an enemy
agent. Univ. Chicago Press, 2006, 413 p., b&w
photos, hardcover, $37.50.
All together now
It is not only the scientific literature that
documents the unexpected “doughnut” pattern in swarms (“The Mind of the Swarm,”
SN: 11/25/06, p. 347). Italo Calvino’s fictional Mr. Palomar observed (rather more
lyrically) about the flocking of Roman starlings, “Finally a form emerges from the
confused flutter of wings, advances, condenses: it is a circular shape, like a sphere,
a bubble, the balloon-speech of someone
who is thinking of a sky full of birds … ”
(Mr. Palomar, 1985, Harcourt Brace).
J. POUND, WORCESTER, MASS.
The article argues that reaching a consensus for movement is more complicated in
humans than in animals, requiring “fancy
cognitive skills.” However, in an airport or
on a busy sidewalk, simple rules linked to
crowd density and speed of walking may
emerge to influence behavior in a rather
mindless way.
TIM SCHALLERT, AUSTIN, TEXAS
VACCINE: The Controversial Story
of Medicine’s Greatest Lifesaver
ARTHUR ALLEN
Although vaccines have saved many thousands of
lives, their history is fraught with controversy. Allen,
a journalist, tells the story from the turn of the 20th
century and the development of
the smallpox vaccine. He
describes the wartime governmental campaigns to protect children against the ravages of
typhoid fever, diphtheria, and yellow fever and explains the legendary rivalry between Jonas Salk
and Albert Sabin and their respective polio vaccines. Allen docu-
ments the trial-and-error effort that created the
MMR—for measles, mumps, rubella—vaccine during
the mid 20th century. Allen also looks at the politics
surrounding vaccination programs, such as the rising
costs of vaccines, the resurgence of childhood diseases such as measles, the potential link between
vaccines and autism, and the reluctance of some
parents to have their children vaccinated. The author
accuses the Bush administration of hyping the
potential of smallpox as a terrorist weapon. Norton,
2007, 523 p., b&w plates, hardcover, $27.95.
Since it is a hallmark of most humans not
to stick out from their crowd, a surprisingly
large number of behaviors and thought
processes in people are defined no differently than they are in the fish school. This
includes religion, music and movie taste,
fashion, and choosing to love or hate some
group or individual.
BARRY P. SKEIST, WAVERLY, N. Y.
RICHTER’S SCALE: Measure of an
Earthquake, Measure of a Man
SUSAN ELIZABETH HOUGH
It’s probably safe to say that only one seismologist is
a household name. Charles Richter developed the
now-standard system of measuring the strength of
an earthquake. However, the man himself has been
an enigma. Hough draws on a wealth of documents
left behind by Richter at the California Institute of
Technology, where he spent his professional career,
to chronicle his rise to fame and explain his place in
NEW ATLAS OF THE MOON
THIERRY LEGAULT AND SERGE BRUNIER
The moon, Earth’s lone natural satellite, is at once
familiar and alien. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin described
its surface as “magnificent des-
olation.” This oversized atlas
reveals the intricate and inter-
esting features of the moon
that may go unnoticed by the
casual Earth-based observer.
Part one features large photo-
graphs and detailed descrip-
tions of the moon’s day-by-day
phase changes. Each description details the moon’s
position in the sky and the major topological features that are revealed as the phases change. Transparent overlays provide markers for these features
on the moon’s surface. Each daily description is
accompanied by a sidebar with abundant facts
about the moon, including why it appears white
when full, the history behind lunar nomenclature,
and details of the U.S. and Russian exploratory missions. Part two of the atlas is a guide to lunar cartography and provides in-depth descriptions of lunar
features and the best times to observe them. The
atlas ends with a section describing lunar events,
including eclipses, and a practical guide to telescopes and binoculars for observing the moon.
Firefly, 2006, 128 p., b&w and color images, $55.00.
Inside story
Your article “Cancer Link: Gene regulates
progesterone effect on breast cells” (SN:
12/2/06, p. 355) made a common mistake
in characterizing the mechanism of steroid-hormone receptors. These receptors are
not “proteins on the cell surface” but rather,
and uniquely, positioned intracellularly.
Steroid hormones pass directly from the
bloodstream to the cytoplasm, where they
induce changes in the receptor proteins,
enable movement into the nucleus, and
activate specific genes.
MAC BLACK, SEATTLE, WASH.
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Big is bountiful
Regarding “Stone Age Role Revolution:
Modern humans may have divided labor to
conquer” (SN: 12/2/06, p. 358), economists
would suggest that population growth
allowed the division of labor. Notice that
the most advanced economies are those
with the largest populations, allowing for
specialization in production. As Adam
Smith wrote in 1776, “The division of labor
is determined by the extent of the market.”
JIM KLEIN, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.
