Basic Books

Not even wrong; the failure of string theory and the search for unity in physical law.

Woit (mathematics, Columbia U.) reviews the controversy over a theory about the fundamental nature of creation that simply does not work, but is so elegant that mathematicians, and even some physicists, refuse to let it go, and have gone so far as to deny some of the most sacred tenets of science in order to defend it. Most of his account is historical and uncontroversial, he says, but towards the end he follows his own inspiration, which does not always flow with the majority view, and can get somewhat technical. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Unstrange minds; remapping the world of autism.

Rather than presenting a resource guide for other parents of children with autism, an anthropologist examines cross-cultural views of illness. Grinker (George Washington U.) traces the history of treating this condition from psychoanalysts' labeling it as childhood schizophrenia due to "refrigerator" mothers, to the current view of autism as a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders. He argues that the present "epidemic" reflects a broadened definition rather than increased incidence, and is hopeful that greater awareness, reduced stigma, and improved treatments and education will benefit children like his daughter. The title refers to an e.e. cummings poem. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Why beauty is truth; a history of symmetry.

Stewart (mathematics, U. of Warwick) has written many popular books as well as technical papers. In this one he traces the notion of symmetry from ancient Greece to current mathematics and physics. The route does not begin with geometry, he explains, but with algebra, and leads through group theory, the quantum world of the very small, the relativistic world of the very large. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)