Regeneration by Pat Barker

I enjoyed this book because it was a view of war from the psychiatrist's office. Some describe this book as anti-war, but I only agree insofar as saying that it shows the horrors of war most vividly. It is deeply troubling and shows the awful choices faced by soldier and doctor. It shows compassion for wounds that are invisible but will never heal. It shows healing of minds that had lost hope. It shows a psychiatrist perhaps taking on himself some of the suffering of his patients. Surely the psychiatrist is heroically withholding his own thoughts and feelings because to share them would only confuse a chaotic situation even more.

This is wonderfully written. The tone, length, and detail are just right.

Devices and Desires by P. D. James

Made doing dishes enjoyable as we read this aloud. It is well-written and very British. We couldn't figure out the villain till the end. Some dead-end story lines that were enjoyable and added to the mystery, I think. Worth the read.

The Demon Under the Microscope by Thomas Hager

The story of the discovery of sulfa, the world's first miracle drug, is very interesting and surprising. It is a story of hard work and luck - a tragic contamination, a delayed Nobel prize, and finally a triumph muted by the discovery of penicillin. The disastrous consequences of wartime wounds in the pre-sulfa era are a sobering look at what might be again if resistance becomes widespread.

Mind from Matter? by Max Delbrück

Though an older book (1986), this is a remarkable summary of evolution, of the world, life, cognition, mathematics, and language. In his summary he states that though mind is clearly an evolutionary adaptation he has no satisfactory explanation for it. Thus the question mark in the title remains. The real value of the book is his summary of the understanding of how life evolved. The fact that remaining questions are clearly shown and left unanswered is a testament to the intellectual honesty of the author.

Most striking to me is the chapter on vision. The intricacy and complexity of the visual apparatus and the brain processing necessary to see is amazing. The author makes no attempt to explain evolutionary mechanism other than describing other animals' eyes. Anatomical differences reflect different needs. The chapter ends.

Protect and Defend by Vince Flynn

Ruthless incredibly patriotic American saves the nation by breaking every rule and using back door access to the Oval Office and above. Haven't I read this before about ten times by fifteen different authors?

September 2008

Supercrunchers by Ian Ayres

At the risk of oversimplifying, this book is about data mining, unless that is just taken as being retrospective. Prospective randomization is "data mining" made possible by automating with computers.

There are multitudes of applications and we are already subjects of scrutiny. Some of this is for our good and some exploits us. We are being watched as surely as a video camera but behind the scenes, computers watching every transaction.

September 2008

Dropsy, Dialysis, Transplant: A Short History of Failing Kidneys by Steven J. Peitzman

The author of this excellent book has done a wonderful, difficult thing. He has written about a complicated subject in a way that interests the amateur physiologist yet doesn't disappoint the professional. As one who treats kidney disease on a daily basis I found this book deep and insightful. My father, who has been a kidney patient, enjoyed the book as well.

The historical review of kidney disease is the thread that holds the story together. Dr. Bright is a towering presence even today. Transplants and dialysis when kidney function fails. There is still much to learn, like what is uremia?

September 2008