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Bright Earth
Philip Ball
Non-fiction. Ball is a chemist, here writing about, as the book's subtitle expresses it, "Art and the Invention of Color". It's a fascinating account of the historical development of pigments, artistic uses, social consequences, impact on devotional art, and even linguistics. Fascinating.
Uncle Tungsten
Oliver Sacks
Non-fiction memoir of famous neurologist Oliver Sacks, who as a boy growing up in WWII Britain wanted to be a chemist or photographer. The book manages to capture one of my own personal favorite recurring quests: childhood wonder and joy of comprehension. This is combined with personal glimpses into a very remarkable family.
Flight of Passage
Rinker Buck
Another non-fiction memoir, again of boyhood adventure and poignant family life. The book documents an amazing cross-country flight in a refurbished Piper Club by Rinker and his brother, schoolboys at the time.
The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space
Craig Ryan
Non-fiction account of pre-NASA experiments in human space exploration. Describes Stapp's high-G rocket sled experiments, Kittenger's totally unbelievable high-altitude freefall jumps, space capsule design, and also NASA's ridiculous and ultimately deadly rejection of most of this pioneering work.
P.S. Lobolover, could I politely request once more that you adopt conventional punctuation and orthagraphy? You're giving me a migraine.
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