Truly an amazing book. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a black, Jewish, American, I don't give non-fiction works star ratings
Content warning: Racism, SA
Truly an amazing book. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, a black, Jewish, American, queer, agender (she/her pronouns) Astrophysicist explores the intersectionality of her life's work and her identity.
Science historically has been a field populated by white men, weaponized against people of color, with the works of POC - and especially that of POC women - being buried, appropriated, or ignored. To this day, POC face barriers to entering scientific fields, yet the onus for changing the status quo is placed on them.
Dr. Prescod-Weinstein demands more than this, specifically from those who hold (and have always held) power in the scientific community. She expects fellow scientists to learn of the societal and historical factors of their areas of study, specifically the racism and exploitation, and apply this to how they approach their subject. She expects fellow professors to learn and respect their students' pronouns so as to not alienate anyone in their classes. She expects recognition for all the uncredited laborers who help make science happen - the housekeeping teams in laboratories and universities, those who've raised scientists and scientists' children, the underpaid admin who've helped type research papers - all who've facilitated science in ways never before regarded as valid or important.
She also discusses several ways she is treated differently than the white men in her field. In addition to microaggressions, and having to work so much harder to still be seen as less, Chapter 11 specifically discusses her experience with rape. It is gutting to read. When she described having a panic flareup and missing three days' work on formulas, knowing that a hypothetical white colleague who didn't have to contend with rape and racism would've been able to accomplish more than her over those three days, I just started bawling.
Such a powerful book. If you're in the right place for it, I couldn't recommend it more....more
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer. Without the consent or knowledge of herself or her familyI don't give non-fiction works star ratings
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer. Without the consent or knowledge of herself or her family, Johns Hopkins - where she had been receiving treatment - took two tissue samples from her, one containing cancerous cells. This latter sample became the first ever to propagate outside of a living human being, the first immortal cell line, dubbed HeLA, the only connection it had to Henrietta Lacks for a very long time.
As the cells duplicated, they were passed around and oftentimes sold to further knowledge on a variety of topics - cancer, radiation's effect on human cells, AIDS research and were even sent to the Moon - all without Henrietta's living family knowing of their existence, only learning of them when being told by a Rolling Stones reporter.
That Henrietta was a black woman is not an insignificant part of this story. That the information was kept for so long from her living black family is not an insignificant part of this story. It is the story. And this book is written with a deeply humanist focus, following the living Lacks family and their quest for recognition of Henrietta's (posthumous) contribution to science, and examining the sociocultural factors that led to it - many of which still affect her relatives to this day.
These are great additions to what is ultimately a science book. I just have one quibble about its framing device/delivery:
I prefer non-fiction where the author is absent from the narrative (memoirs/autobiographies excepted). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is as much about the writing of the book as it is about its titular subject matter. Everything we read is through the lens of author Rebecca Skloot's investigation. While I appreciate the time she took meeting the Lacks family and becoming part of their lives - particularly Deborah's - this is a black family's story, and a white woman made herself (perhaps needlessly) a big part of it.
I'm very glad Skloot was able to get Henrietta's story told. I'm just much less interested in the story of Rebecca Skloot......more
That this is such a hard book to read speaks to the necessity of reading it, especially now when CRT is undI don't give non-fiction works star ratings
That this is such a hard book to read speaks to the necessity of reading it, especially now when CRT is under attack in the American educational system. But if white people are capable of committing such atrocities as described so thoroughly in this book, we should be just as capable of being taken to task for them. We have a responsibility to confront our past, learn, apply, and atone. Our discomfort is nothing compared to the suffering we've caused.
This is about how science was manipulated to defend the illogical (racism), and how black bodies have been exploited to further white health. Harriet A. Washington covers an incredible scope of medical abuse against black people, beginning with early experimentation during slavery. She conveys the information in a clear narrative that follows the new forms these abuses took with the changing circumstances of black Americans throughout history. She illustrates the multiple hypocrisies in the pseudoscience used to justify the constant maltreatment, and holds several notable figures accountable for egregious acts (many of whom are/were revered in the white medical community).
So no star rating - because I don't know how to give stars to our history. But I have filed it on my "Best Non-Fiction" shelf here....more
Very fascinating; Nina Nesseth provides the scientific explanation for our physiological and psychological reactiI don't give non-fiction star ratings
Very fascinating; Nina Nesseth provides the scientific explanation for our physiological and psychological reaction to horror movies, examining our response to the way they look, sound, and even feel to us, and how they sit in our memories and make us behave. Notable are the sections where she singles out how specific horror movies that got big (Jaws, The Blair Witch Project, etc.), and what they say about the cultural consciousness that made them hits. Essential reading for all horror fans....more
This is a perfect complement to Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by sleep scientist Matthew I don’t give star ratings to non-fiction
This is a perfect complement to Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by sleep scientist Matthew Walker. While the latter book puts the onus on the reader, not society, to change to benefit our natural habits (particularly re: sleep), When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing offers practical, science-based implementations small groups (i.e. families, workplaces, etc.) can enact to better benefit their members. Really great, solid advice and this book does live up to its promise of being a “when-to� book as opposed to a “how-to�....more
On a technical level, this is one of the best-written works of non-fiction I've ever read. Certain boI tend not to give non-fiction works star ratings
On a technical level, this is one of the best-written works of non-fiction I've ever read. Certain books by investigative journalists have made me uncomfortable (The Doctor Who Fooled the World and Bad Blood in particular) because they structure their narrative in a way so that the publication of their article marks the turning point, then subsequently portray themselves as the hero, when real life doesn't work that way.
Patrick Radden Keefe does not allow himself to be a character in Empire of Pain, despite the impact of his 2017 New Yorker article. He keeps the focus on the Sackler family, unflinchingly, but offers no commentary of his own. He just reports the facts as discovered through tireless research and 200+ interviews, quotes sources verbatim, and lets the family reveal themselves.
This truly is a family history, and as time progresses it becomes painfully clear how relevant the past is to the Sacklers' modern operations. The groundwork for what their legacy would become was laid down long ago.
I typically don't apply star ratings to non-fiction
This was so beautiful. Robin Wall Kimmerer divulges the romanticism that inspired her particular fiI typically don't apply star ratings to non-fiction
This was so beautiful. Robin Wall Kimmerer divulges the romanticism that inspired her particular field of scientific study, shares history (both of mosses and her own), and the importance and application of mosses.
As a member of the Potawatomi Nation, she talks at length about moss's significance to Native Americans, particularly women - and also examines why she is the first to do so.
Wondrous. Required reading for those interested in the ways we think and learn.
The Demon-Haunted World is an examination of the ways we're driven fromWondrous. Required reading for those interested in the ways we think and learn.
The Demon-Haunted World is an examination of the ways we're driven from science and scientific thinking and the dangers that abandonment leaves us open to. It is about the history of science and its application, and how it shapes our world and develops us as a people. It is a challenge of pseudoscience, hoaxes, and those who prey on our faiths and fears. It is a potential guidebook to our future, and both a celebration and warning of our past.
All this, and still I've barely scratched the surface of all this book can be. It asks you to ask questions. It demands you think critically. It also, in the kindest of terms, says, "Don't be a sucker."...more
So unsettling and suspenseful, this builds like a horror movie. Worse than the ravages of Radium on the human body is the harm we can do to one anotheSo unsettling and suspenseful, this builds like a horror movie. Worse than the ravages of Radium on the human body is the harm we can do to one another. Kate Moore serves her subjects much deserved justice in this very sympathetic and honest portrayal not just of their plights, but of their lives and characters. She sees the lives they could have continued, given the chance, and it is remarkable to read....more
So fresh, and told in a distinctly Midwestern voice I found endlessly relatable and endearing. The major emphasis of this book is "dinosaurs as animalSo fresh, and told in a distinctly Midwestern voice I found endlessly relatable and endearing. The major emphasis of this book is "dinosaurs as animals", and seeks to demystify dinosaur evolution and behaviors by comparing with their closest living relatives. I enjoyed this greatly.
The scope is mostly limited to those dinosaurs Steve Brusatte helped dig up, research, name, etc., which I feel 2 ways about. On the one hand, it is not at all comprehensive, and certainly not a "new history" (a new history for some species, perhaps). On the other, the accuracy and clarity of information on what was given felt true and concise.
Overall, this is very fun and I'm leaving it with new nuggets and thoughts, as I should be :)...more
Loading...
