Cover
My previous post on this book was just an initial reaction to learning of the existence of both books and author, etc. This is going to be a review. And possibly, or probably, a mycelial one, at that!
I have to confess that the curmudgeonly part of me (quite large!) was a bit inclined to baulk at the lionisation of both book and author. My jealousy and sour-grapes regarding what I deem the silver spoon of being born into privilege threatening to jaundice the encounter.
However, for all that many of the anticipated hackles have risen, I have to concede that I love this book. And the author’s approach seems, to me – on the whole (I’ll come back to this in a bit) – very judiciously balanced.
What on earth am I on about? Well, as a scion of a clan the paternal figure of which published a book called The Science Delusion… yeah!?
I’m starting this review whilst reading chapter five, Before Roots, in which he opens with a lyric from Tom Waits (and Kathleen Brennan), and then later quotes Tolkien. Waits and Tolkien are two of the brightest stars in my personal firmament, and not the sort of folk I’d expect to find quoted in what is essentially a popular science work.
I like this looser more wide-ranging approach being brought back into science. An arena of human activity some seem to have wanted to remain aridly Apollonian.