This summer will not go as planned for many of us. No distant exotic destinations for the time being, but nice out in our own country. Or maybe even just sitting in an easy chair, in the backyard, with a cold glass of drink and a good book. The editors of NEMO Kennislink again recommended the best scientific books of the past year for the coming summer holiday.
The happy worrier
By Bart Verkuil
Almost everyone worries sometimes, especially in special times like now. Why does it sometimes seem like we can't turn our heads off and the negative thoughts about the future keep rolling over each other? Clinical psychologist Bart Verkuil treats chronic worriers and conducts research into them. In 'The Happy Worryer' he offers a new perspective on the worrying person:worrying is normal, human and quite useful to do now and then. But you have to be able to put the brakes on.
Verkuil wrote a book full of recognizable examples and practical tips to understand your own worries and to do something about it when it gets out of hand. Ideal for those who keep on thinking about their problems while on holiday. Or for those who continue to doubt whether there will be a foreign summer holiday at all.
– Mariska van Sprundel, editor Brain &Behavior –
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Our building blocks. The story of the hidden matter that has shaped the Earth and man.
By Anja Røyne
There are many chemical elements that most people know the name of, but which we actually know very little about. This already applies to a well-known element such as iron, let alone to aluminum, phosphorus, titanium, calcium or copper.
Norwegian physicist Anja Røyne brings these unknown but crucial building blocks into the limelight. She starts with the origin of all those elements and then explains what role they play in our machines, houses, cars and everything else we make.
Røyne presents all the good that we owe to these building blocks, but also the bad consequences of extraction and processing. How do we reduce the impact of our need for raw materials without putting aside our other needs? Sober and matter-of-fact, Røyne confronts the reader with the facts. Enough to think about during your holiday.
Read an extensive review of 'Our building blocks' here
– Esther Thole, editor of chemical sciences / Functional Molecular Systems –
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Diagnosis
By Lisa Sanders
For those who would like to think about a disease other than corona this summer vacation, the book 'Diagnosis' by Lisa Sanders is definitely recommended. In the book, Sanders tells stories of medical mysteries—patients that puzzle doctors. The problems in many of these patients start with very normal symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches and rashes, but quickly escalate.
In 'Diagnosis' you are put in the doctor's chair and dragged into the search for what makes these people so sick. While the moral conclusion of any story can get boring in the long run, it's very interesting to empathize with the doctors like a true Sherlock Holmes. And if the book isn't enough for you, there's also a seven-part Netflix series.
Read an extensive review of 'Diagnosis' here
– Renée Canrinus-Moezelaar, chemistry editor –
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Roma Intima
By Bert Gevaert &Johan Mattelaer
“Celadus the Tracier makes all girls sigh.” When we think of Romans, we tend to think of sex, according to the authors. Was it really that wild? A sneak peek of the veil:Romans had little shame about being naked. Bathhouses were public and mixed, as were the toilets.
In addition to all the ins and outs about intimate hygiene, eroticism, love, marriage and gender are discussed, supplemented with the most beautiful examples from Roman sources – in text and images. Some of them raise your eyebrows and others are very recognizable, such as curses with diseases:'Chius, I hope your hemorrhoids open again!' or complaining about mothers-in-law:'Don't expect rest while her mother lives'.
Read an extensive review of 'Roma Intima' here
– Marjolein Overmeer, humanities editor –
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Dangerous game – about predators and their prey
By Piet J. van den Hout
Predators are a necessary part of the ecosystem:they prevent the food sources of their prey from becoming depleted and thus promote the ecosystem. In his book 'Dangerous game', science journalist Piet van den Hout takes a closer look at the complicated relationship between prey and its attacker, after which you may start to look at that relationship differently. Because are prey not much more dominant than predators?
The common thread is his own PhD research in the mudflats of West Africa into the relationship between waders and falcons. He studied those birds for hours, in the blazing sun, armed with a notebook. That makes for beautiful descriptions. The book is not limited to his own bird research, but also covers larger predators such as lions, and smaller ones such as the larvae of the plume mosquito.
Because of the many trips that Van den Hout has made, he often knows how to provide these countless examples with anecdotes and that makes it a wonderfully readable book, despite the complicated subject.
– Anne van Kessel, editor biology –
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The story of the Bucky Lab
By Ulrich Knaack, Marcel Bilow &Tillmann Klein
Sunflowers hang on the outside of a building. They look real from a distance, but are not. They contain a mechanism that makes them turn directly to the sun as soon as it rises. They provide shadow on the facade and that you are not bothered by the heat and bright light inside.
It is one of the creations from the Dr. Bucky Lab of the TU Delft has emerged. Students there not only come up with new inventions under supervision, but also actually build them themselves. Roll up your sleeves and discover how best to make new things. It is the approach of the head of the lab:Marcel Bilow.
Publisher nai010 made an excellent book about him, the lab and the students. The book mainly shows how resourceful students are. For example, how they make a beach house with a sloping roof, which not only looks beautiful but also directly strengthens the dunes. It is functional and beautiful . This book is an ode to the creativity of go-getters.
Read an extensive review of The story of the Bucky Lab here
– Robert Visscher, technology editor –
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The origin of language – where, when and why humans started talking
By Sverker Johansson
Skeletons, hand axes, fertility figurines. Over the years, archaeological finds have taught us a lot about human evolution, but unfortunately there was never a recorded speech set in stone that we could listen back to. The origin of language therefore remains a mystery. Or not…?
In this pleasantly readable book, the Swedish linguist and physicist Johansson makes an admirable and convincing attempt to solve the riddle. He works in depth, involving all kinds of disciplines to explain how and why humans have developed language – and why other animal species are unable to do so.
Read an in-depth review of The Origin of Language here
– Erica Renckens, editor 'Talking about language' –
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The race against the turtle
By Marcel Vonk
The holidays are the perfect time to change your mind. Why not move towards the most important thought experiments in physics? Put a piece of mental gymnastics in your suitcase this year with 'The race against the turtle', the new book by physicist Marcel Vonk.
The thought experiment has been a powerful tool for cracking hard scientific nuts for thousands of years. From a brain teaser about an unwinnable race against a turtle on paper, via the paradox of the relativity theory of the twins who went on a time travel, to the tragic end of Erwin Schrödinger's imaginary cat who is both alive and dead due to a quantum mechanical interaction. .
If you're into spicy physics (Vonk warns some chapters with "three peppers") with a mathematical and philosophical edge, then this book is for you. Despite the sometimes high level, Vonk guides you effortlessly through these twists and turns towards new insights with his clear and light writing style.
– Roel van der Heijden, editor astronomy, physics and technology –
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Immune
By Daniel Davis
Just before the corona outbreak, I read the book 'Immune' by immunologist Daniel Davis. 'Immune' provides a complete overview of the knowledge we currently have about our immune system.
While reading everything you notice that Davis has a passion for his profession. He describes the discovery of all kinds of cell types as if he were there himself and also tells the personal story of the researchers behind those discoveries.
This makes the book not only informative, but also entertaining to read. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about the functioning of the immune system during this corona crisis.
Read an extensive review of 'Immune' here
– Elles Lalieu, medical science editor –
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Language power – Different words, different worlds
By Christien Brinkgreve, Eric Koenen &Sanne Bloemink (eds.)
“If you want to change the world, start with language”. With that sentence, Paul Verhaeghe closes the first story in the collection 'Taalkracht'. The other 20 contributions by scientists and writers also show how much language influences our view of the world.
Different words such as low-skilled, Golden Age, excellence and participating patient are critically examined. The different perspectives on language presented in this book are refreshing. However, for my taste, the focus is a bit too much on psychiatry and care, and the tone is sometimes very academic.
That does not apply to the gripping story by writer Raoul de Jong, which stands out for me. In all honesty, he tells how over the years he got more and more stomachaches from the title of his first book:Stinknegers. A title that he did not come up with himself. The history of his Surinamese father confronts him with the deeply negative connotation of the n-word. When you read it you really understand what words do.
– Mathilde Jansen – editor linguistics –
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