Popular Science and Psychology

Control

This is a highly readable and well put together introduction to eugenics's past and to its present. Overall, Rutherford writes engagingly and expertly on a subject that is central to his research and the place where he practises it (UCL, Rutherford's university, was at the forefront of early 20th century eugenics research). For me, the book is most interesting on the state of eugenics thinking today as Rutherford explains and unpacks some of the complicated moral quandaries now faced by the medical profession and parents alike when it comes to things like so-called designer babies. Above all what he brings out is the deep complexity of the science which makes our media-filtered understanding of the topic seem too simplistic for words.
There are just a few occasions (most notably in the historical section) when Rutherford's style can be too chummy and once or twice he could do with defining terms more clearly but overall this is an excellent introdution to a compley and emotive topic

The Antidote

Have you ever tired of people telling you to just think positively? Well, Oliver Burkeman has news for you! In this mix of journalistic investigation and psychological field report Burkeman puts the positive thinking industry in the pillory and brands typical self-help books as useless. He proposes a new approach to your happiness: Think negatively! He rests this advice on extensive research ranging from the Stoics to Buddhism and established psychological schools. Even if this is not the antidote to all your problems, it's a good start and an entertaining read.

Control

Wilding

The book that launched a publishing obsession. Isabella Tree's account of her and her husband's transformation of his family estate into a 'rewilded' oasis for flora and fauna is only a few years old yet has proven such a hit that other publishers have raced to put out their own books on wilding/rewilding.
This is with good reason. Once you get over the fact that Tree and her husband just happen to own thousand of acres of the best and most beautiful countryside in Britain, you discover this is a book filled with fascinating nuggets about what best to do with the countryside in the climate crisis and how to think about natural history in different ways. Among the biggest revelations to me was Tree's scepticism about the idea that closed canopy forests had once covered the whole of the UK. Her point being that if they did, there would have been no sustenance for large grazing animals. There is much much more to learn in the book itself!

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Bill Gates is one of the few super-rich who actually seems to feel some responsibilty attached to his wealth and is currently trying his best to get the world vaccinated. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that he feels strongly enough about the climate crisis to publish a book about it. It's a pleasantly solution-minded approach: he sets out in detail what exactly needs to be achieved and which, in his opinion, is the best way to do so. Clearly enthusiastic about the developing technology, Gates largely puts his faith in scientific funding and advancement. His optimism here comes across as highly knowledgable and justified, only tampered by his lack of plan when it comes to political cooperation. Here though, a lot of the initiative when it comes to tackling the climate crisis has floundered and been torpedoed by other interests. Let's hope Gate's book goes some way in opening politicians eyes everywhere.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Easily the bible of the 21st Century - judging by our sales numbers, roughly every fifth person in the world has bought this book. And no wonder - there's no better book to teach us about clear thinking and making up our own minds in an ever evolving world.

The Gospel of the Eels

Svensson takes a deep dive into the biology and history of eels, while reminiscing about a childhood in rural Sweden, where he tried to catch them together with his father. The book shows, what a surprisingly fascinating topic eels can be: so much is unknown or speculative about them and, once so ubiquitous, they are now severly diminished. The reflective passages about his childhood and the complicated father-son relationship are beautifully written too, but they felt less necessary to his real subject. I loved Svensson's writing where it was directly concerned with eels, but his extrapolations from there to what it means to be human felt at times very forced and unsatisfactory. I felt that the eel could have been just as meaningful on its own, without wrestiling it into a sort of metaphor on the trials of being human.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Great Derangement

Dies ist eine nachdenklich stimmende Reflexion darüber, wie die Kultur - und insbesondere die Literatur - sich mit dem Klimawandel auseinandergesetzt hat (bzw. nicht auseinandergesetzt hat).

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