Message-Id: <v01540b01b1ddbc107057@[208.201.231.36]>
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1998 21:25:40 -0700
To: pinhole@exploratorium.edu
From: kimg@sonic.net (Kim Greco)
Subject: books
One non-fiction: "Fermat's Enigma", by Simon Singh. Not just for math
people; some great anecdotes, some fun puzzles; but what it really is is an
explanation of passion. The man devoted 8 years of his life to a solitary
exploration of this theorem, and the reader can truly empathize (even if
the math is just a wee bit above one's head) with his delight and lust for
the answer. Marvelous.
Several fictions by the Father of The Pill, Carl Djerassi: the most recent
is "Menachem's Seed". Also "The Bourbaki Gambit", "Marx, Deceased" and
"Cantor's Dilemma". A lovely sense of humor, good plots, and an excellent
sense of what makes science work--and not! Highly recommended. The guy is
cool (not that he would have to be, for those of us who came of age in the
late 60s!!)