Reviews

A Mathematician’s Lament: How School Cheats Us Out of Our Most Fascinating and Imaginative Art Form by Paul Lockhart

Prevailing math education makes the grade but misses the meaning, a teacher argues. Bellevue Literary Press, 2009, 192 p., $12.95. A MATHEMATICIAN’S LAMENT: HOW SCHOOL CHEATS US OUT OF OUR MOST FASCINATING AND IMAGINATIVE ART FORM BY PAUL LOCKHART

Lucy’s Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins by Donald C. Johanson and Kate Wong

Lucy’s discoverer and  a science writer detail advances in paleoanthropology. Harmony Books, 2009, 309 p., $25. LUCY’S LEGACY: THE QUEST FOR HUMAN ORIGINS BY DONALD C. JOHANSON AND KATE WONG

Dead Pool: Lake Powell, Global Warming, and the Future of Water in the West by James Lawrence Powell

The draining reservoir is a bellwether for water supplies in the American West. Univ. of California Press, 2009, 283 p.,$27.50. DEAD POOL: LAKE POWELL, GLOBAL WARMING, AND THE FUTURE OF WATER IN THE WEST BY JAMES LAWRENCE POWELL

Aladdin’s Lamp: How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World by John Freely

Science survived the Dark Ages in the sanctuary of the Middle East. Knopf, 2009, 303 p., $27.95. ALADDIN’S LAMP: HOW GREEK SCIENCE CAME TO EUROPE THROUGH THE ISLAMIC WORLD BY JOHN FREELY

Elephant Reflections – Photos by Karl Ammann, Text by Dale Peterson

A photographer’s lens brings this pachyderm into focus. Univ. of California Press, 2009, 272 p., $39.95 ELEPHANT REFLECTIONS BY PHOTOGRAPHS BY KARL AMMANN, TEXT BY DALE PETERSON

Book Review: 1001 Inventions That Changed the World by Jack Challoner, ed.

Review by Sid Perkins.

Book Review: Diagnosis: Mercury Money, Politics & Poison by Jane M. Hightower

Review by Janet Raloff.

How Women Got Their Curves and Other Just-So Stories: Evolutionary Enigmas by David P. Barash and Judith Eve Lipton

A sociobiologist and a clinical psychiatrist explore why women evolved the way they did. HOW WOMEN GOT THEIR CURVES AND OTHER JUST-SO STORIES: EVOLUTIONARY ENIGMAS BY DAVID P. BARASH AND JUDITH EVE LIPTON Columbia Univ., 2009, 224 p., $29.95.

Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World by Tom Zoellner

This radioactive substance has offered promise and generated peril throughout history. URANIUM: WAR, ENERGY AND THE ROCK THAT SHAPED THE WORLD BY TOM ZOELLNER Viking, 2009, 337 p., $26.95.

The Cosmic Connection: How Astronomical Events Impact Life on Earth by Jeff Kanipe

From solar output to supernovas, cosmic events affect Earth’s biosphere. Prometheus Books, 2009, 296 p., $27.98. THE COSMIC CONNECTION: HOW ASTRONOMICAL EVENTS IMPACT LIFE ON EARTH BY JEFF KANIPE

The Illustrious Dead by Stephan Talty

How an eons-old disease — typhus —defeated Napoléon’s seemingly unstoppable Great Army. Crown Publishers, 2009, 336 p., $25.95. THE ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD BY STEPHAN TALTY

Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes by Daina Taimina

Math and art interweave in this tactile, comprehensible exploration of geometry. AK Peters, 2009, 148 p., $35. CROCHETING ADVENTURES WITH HYPERBOLIC PLANES BY DAINA TAIMINA