Reviews

Eternity Soup: Inside the Quest to End Aging by Greg Critser

An aging society has spurred academics and entrepreneurs to study getting old and what could or should be done to stop it. Harmony Books, 2010, 234 p., $26. ETERNITY SOUP: INSIDE THE QUEST TO END AGING BY GREG CRITSER

The Warcraft Civilization: Social Science in a Virtual World by William Sims Bainbridge

Studying players in the computer game World of Warcraft can explain real-world group behavior, a sociologist argues. MIT Press, 2010, 244 p., $27.95. THE WARCRAFT CIVILIZATION: SOCIAL SCIENCE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD BY WILLIAM SIMS BAINBRIDGE

Flatland: An Edition with Notes and Commentary

by Edwin A. Abbott, notes by William F. Lindgren and Thomas F. Banchoff.

Book Review: The Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate Change: A Complete Visual Guide by J.L. Fry, H.-F. Graf, R. Grotjahn, M.N. Raphael, C. Saunders and R. Whitaker

Review by Sid Perkins.

Gold Medal Physics: The Science of Sports by John Eric Goff

How athletes, Olympian and otherwise, perform some of their most amazing physical feats. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2010, 214 p., $25. GOLD MEDAL PHYSICS: THE SCIENCE OF SPORTS BY JOHN ERIC GOFF

Being with Animals: Why We Are Obsessed with the Furry, Scaly, Feathered Creatures Who Populate Our World by Barbara J. King

A fascination with animals is an intrinsic part of human nature, an anthropologist argues. BEING WITH ANIMALS: WHY WE ARE OBSESSED WITH THE FURRY, SCALY, FEATHERED CREATURES WHO POPULATE OUR WORLD BY BARBARA J. KING Doubleday, 2010, 258 p., $24.99.

Book Review: The Hidden Brain by Shankar Vedantam

Review by Erika Engelhaupt.

Book Review: Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth by Randi Hutter Epstein

Review by Kristina Bartlett Brody.

Isaac Newton on Mathematical Certainty and Method by Niccolò Guicciardini

A science historian analyzes Newton’s philosophy of mathematics. MIT Press, 2009, 422 p., $55. ISAAC NEWTON ON MATHEMATICAL CERTAINTY AND METHOD BY NICCOLò GUICCIARDINI

A Bird-Finding Guide to Costa Rica by Barrett Lawson

The country with the highest percentage of preserved land in the world has many birding opportunities, described here by location. Cornell University Press, 2009, 365 p., $29.95. A BIRD-FINDING GUIDE TO COSTA RICA BY BARRETT LAWSON

The Perfect Swarm: The Science of Complexity in Everyday Life by Len Fisher

Complex systems often stem from an accumulation of simple patterns. Basic Books, 2009, 260 p., $22.95. THE PERFECT SWARM: THE SCIENCE OF COMPLEXITY IN EVERYDAY LIFE BY LEN FISHER

Perfect Rigor: A Genius and the Mathematical Breakthrough of the Century by Masha Gessen

How a mathematician solved a seemingly unsolvable problem and turned down the million-dollar prize. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009, 242 p., $26. PERFECT RIGOR: A GENIUS AND THE MATHEMATICAL BREAKTHROUGH OF THE CENTURY BY MASHA GESSEN