What could be nicer this summer than slumped in a beach chair and reading a good book about science? A lot of beautiful things appeared this year. All editors of NEMO Kennislink therefore recommend their favorite popular science book from the past year.
Under the tunnel. The history of 75 years of Maastunnel
By Henk van der Maas
Never before has a tunnel for cars, pedestrians and cyclists been constructed like this. Not by digging a hole in the ground, but by sinking it. In addition, the tunnel was also rectangular instead of round. If only that would go well! De Ingenieur magazine even published an alarming article about it.
But it all went well and the Rotterdam Maastunnel was widely imitated. After construction, it was seen as a new standard for tunnel construction. In the book 'Under the tunnel' you can read about the engineers and scientists who calculated the construction. Author Henk van der Maas also talks about the four hundred thousand tiles and the three belligerents who were the very first to pass through. Former tunnel manager Van der Maas is a true storyteller and mixes all these different subjects excellently. And then there are also beautiful photos.
You immediately feel like driving or walking through the Maastunnel. This will become more difficult in the coming years. From 2 July, the connection from north to south will be closed for no less than two years due to renovation. And then it's the turn of the bicycle and pedestrian tunnel, so that this special structure will also be preserved for the future.
Read a more extensive review of 'Under the tunnel' here. The history of 75 years of Maastunnel'.
– Robert Visscher, Technology editor –
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In the land of the yes marbles
By Frank Westerman
Although strictly speaking this is not a popular science book, you will learn a lot from it. For example, why the brent became a rare bird temporarily (because Stalin's forced laborers ate them), how to prevent a blowout when drilling for oil (by pouring mud sludge of the right density into the borehole), and what about the love-hate relationship between Schoonebeek and NAM ('it is love'). Westerman does not spoon up facts, does not explain in detail, does not give lectures. Westerman tells stories, and he does it very well.
The book contains 24 reports. They are mainly about the recent history of the Netherlands (the Venlo gang, the transgenic bull Herman), sometimes also about events that only affected a few people (the accident of little Bob in the garage). In my case, the fact that I like it so much will be partly because of the recognition. Westerman, like me, comes from Drenthe. As an 11-year-old I also heard the jet fighters flying over at night, on their way to the hijacked train in De Punt.
But the main reason to read this book is another:Frank Westerman can write.
– Marlies ter Voorde, editor Earth and Climate –
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Startling discoveries about language
By Milfje Meulskens
It all started with a blog:Milfje's Language Passion. There, the linguists Sterre Leufkens and Marten van der Meulen still write a few times a week about new discoveries in their field.
For the first time, the writing duo has now also produced a book, in which they explain all kinds of research in linguistics in a light-hearted way in fine short chapters. Many topics have also been discussed at NEMO Kennislink, but that is not surprising:the way babies learn language, humor in the language use of computers, the influence of language on smell or other sensory perceptions, the relationship between language and meaning, Dutch loanwords and youth language are of course the best of the linguistic porridge. And language lovers can never get enough of that.
The attention for the methods used in language research ('sometimes downright hilarious' – such as test subjects whose skin reaction was measured to taboo words such as poo in their native language and a foreign language) is also completely in line with the philosophy of NEMO Kennislink, and deserves a big thumbs up. The writing style is very cheerful and enthusing, which is why 'Remarkable discoveries' about language is a great holiday fare.
– Mathilde Jansen, editor Linguistics –
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Ode to the E numbers
By Rosanne Hertzberger
Despite the slogan Why E numbers, ready meals and preservatives make our lives better, don't put this book in your suitcase to finally read what is really healthy.
Writer and microbiologist Rosanne Hertzberger counteracts the endless army of cooking gurus. According to Hertzberger, counselors who avoid anything that smacks of technology or "chemistry" are especially lost. In an easy-to-read book, she shows that food is chemistry and technology, whether you like it or not.
The finger is put in understandable language on painful places:for example the treacherous dividing line between 'artificial' and 'natural' substances. And that not e-numbers, but natural substances such as fats and sugars threaten public health. Inventions such as seed breeding, fertilizer and genetic engineering are also extensively discussed.
Hertzberger is a food anti-romantic. She is delighted with a microwave meal and refuses to cut vegetables when a machine can. The book is primarily a pamphlet that shows that our food is a technologically advanced product, and that there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, that it is very necessary to feed everyone on earth.
– Roel van der Heijden, editor Physics &Technology –
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Populism
By Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser
Nowadays, and especially in election time, the term 'populism' is flying around your head. But what does it actually mean? For everyone who secretly has no clue, but wants more than the Wikipedia definition, this book from the series Elementary Particles a solution.
In a calm manner, the authors take you by the hand through the landscape of populism. They provide many clear definitions and illustrate situations with recent examples. While they also explain what makes the term so vague.
The language is sometimes a bit spicy and that is why it may not be the first thing you think of when you think of a light summer book. But if the conversation at the next BBQ takes a political turn, you can suddenly do a lot more than just nod in agreement after reading this book.
Read a more in-depth review of "'Populism'" here.
– Ellen Schulten, intern –
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The forbidden book. Mein Kampf and the appeal of Nazism
By Ewoud Kieft
I admit, Hitler's Mein Kampf doesn't really sound like a light-hearted topic for the holiday suitcase. But historian Ewoud Kieft describes in a fascinating way how this now banned book once managed to get millions of people enthusiastic about National Socialist ideas. They really weren't all mentally ill, so there was more going on here.
Hitler knew better than anyone how to tap into the sentiments that prevailed in the defeated and economically bankrupt Germany after the First World War. He played the masses brilliantly and in Mein Kampf Hitler explained how to do that too. Including designating one common enemy or scapegoat.
The Forbidden Book is one of the most interesting books I've read this year, also because of Kieft's personal tone. Confess that he himself also felt enthusiasm for some pieces from Mein Kampf sounds intense, given today's knowledge of the Second World War and the persecution of the Jews. The author makes it painfully clear that there is not only reprehensible nonsense in Hitler's book.
Read a more in-depth review of The Forbidden Book here. Mein Kampf and the allure of Nazism'.
– Marjolein Overmeer, editor Humanities –
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Atlas of the Dutch Language
By Mathilde Jansen, Nicoline van der Sijs, Fieke Van der Gucht and Johan De Caluwe
It may not fit so conveniently in your beach bag, but the recently published Atlas of the Dutch language is certainly wonderful (and responsible) reading material for the summer. In sixty themes, the authors answer all possible questions you could ask about the Dutch language. And that too in an accessible way with many maps, graphs and other visualisations.
What does your last name mean? Does your dialect still have a future? How do places get their carnival name? Do other languages pose a threat to Dutch? This fine reference book about the wonderful world of the Dutch language is good for many hours of browsing.
The authors made a Dutch and a Flemish edition of the atlas. 56 of the 60 themes covered are common:the subject is the same, but the approach and examples fit the edition. The other 4 themes are unique and are, for example, in the Dutch edition about Frisian and other minority languages and in the Flemish edition about intermediate language, the Flemish informal spoken language. If you were not yet a language lover, this atlas will make you one.
– Erica Renckens, editor 'Talking about language' –
Read more about the 'Atlas of the Dutch Language'
We have no idea?!
By Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson
As you gaze at the beautiful clear starry sky this holiday on a remote island, you may not realize that the universe still has a lot of secrets for us. Only five percent of the universe is known matter such as planets and stars, the rest of the universe is made up of materials that we do not know. But if it's up to scientists, not for long.
In "We Have No Idea?!" physicists Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson unravel the greatest mysteries in the universe. Does extraterrestrial life exist? Why is the universe so empty? What is matter made of? We do not know. In other words, we don't know yet. Scientists are working hard every day on these issues and their progress is presented in a well-organized manner by Cham and Whiteson.
Funny illustrations make complex theories accessible and make you think. And while this book raises more questions than it answers, it certainly deserves a place in your suitcase.
Read a more in-depth review of 'We have no idea?!' here.
– Renée Moezelaar, Chemistry editor –
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The back of the Netherlands
By Pieter Tops and Jan Tromp
If you love The Godfather, this book is a must. As in that film, the social context surrounding (drug) crime is central. There is, however, an important difference:the (true) story takes place in the Netherlands.
Researchers Pieter Tops and Jan Tromp base themselves on hard facts when they describe how cannabis cultivation and the crime surrounding it have increasingly determined social and political life in Brabant. From threatened mayors who have to flee if they refuse to be bribed to drug lords who have entire neighborhoods in their grip - the residents of which specialize in growing cannabis. How did it get this far?
The concerned (often unemployed) citizens of Brabant feel abandoned by a state that demands more and more civic self-reliance. In addition, people from Brabant traditionally oppose Dutch patronage. In addition, some drug lords behave like a Godfather by investing heavily in local associations, for example. But just like in the Godfather film, former 'soldiers' notice that their bosses punish harshly if you follow your own course.
All in all, this book is an eye-opener about how the shadow world of organized crime has gained a foothold in the Netherlands. Hopefully, besides yourself, many police officers and politicians will also put the book in their suitcase.
– Marloes van Amerom, editor Mens &Maatschappij –
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A better brain – Can brain science make us smarter?
By Niki Korteweg
Reading a book's mental activity keeps your brain in shape. If what you read is also about how to improve your brain, you will have double the profit this summer. Because that's what 'A better brain is all about':brain science that might help ordinary people.
Author Niki Korteweg describes the effect and results of memory pills and brain training to deep brain stimulation and EEG headsets, but also of old-fashioned means such as sleep, nutrition and meditation.
You don't want to miss the last chapter in particular; that offers a glimpse into where brain science is all going:brains that are recreated in computers, extra human memory on a chip, a ghost that lives on in the cloud after death. With this book you can treat your upstairs room to a portion of pleasantly written cognitive fare.
Read a more extensive review of 'A Better Brain' here.
– Mariska van Sprundel, editor Brain &Behavior –
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Waiter, there's physics in my soup
By Helen Czerski
Wherever you spend the summer holidays and whatever you do, you'll find some of it in this delightful physics book. Author Helen Czerski enthusiastically shows how physical laws can be recognized all around us. It's about surfing, coffee stains, earthquakes, diving, pizza dough, Wi-Fi, pearls, thunderstorms and why the tea sloshes out of your cup if you walk too fast.
Czerski effortlessly connects it all with gravity, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, surface tension, the ideal gas law and a whole series of physical concepts and laws. By always alternating recognizable examples with an explanation of the physics behind it, she shows how apparently very different things arise from the same principles.
That there is a relationship between the glow of your toaster, the radio signals sent out by the Titanic and the communication between blue whales. Or connect some popcorn to the Magdeburger hemispheres, drinking through a straw and rockets. That's how it goes. An absolute must.
Read a more in-depth review of 'Waiter, there's physics in my soup' here.
– Esther Thole, editor Functional Molecular Systems and Chemical Sciences –
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What is your favorite summer book this year?