Kirkus Review
Bow-tied nerd superhero Nye (Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World, 2015, etc.) serves up a tasty combination of memoir and manifesto.When he was a kid, writes the author, ever engagingly, it was said that the party didn't start "until Bill gets out the dictionary." A dogged pursuer of what some might call trivia and others the marrow of the universe, Nye loved physics, mathematics, and astronomy as well as geography, language, and literature. In short, he became an adept and enthusiast for knowledge writ large, leading him here to proselytize for "a worldview that involves gathering as much information as possible and being constantly on the lookout for ways to use it for the greater good." The commonweal aspect will sound suspiciously lefty to the climate change deniers and creationists in the audience, but Nye is quite serious; it's not enough, he writes, to geek out about comic-book characters and the changing details of the starship Enterprise over time, not when there are massive problems that only sharp, science-minded people can solve. Throughout the book, the author peppers the narrative with his own various engagements at the places where science and the political sphere meet, from his attendance at the very first Earth Day to his realization, while studying the deadly shortcuts of automakers in engineering school, that planning is the horse that pulls the cart: "A good design doesn't guarantee a great product, because there are plenty of places to go wrong in execution; but you will never, ever have a great product without a very good design." His objections notwithstanding, there are plenty of moments of geeking out in Nye's booke.g., his discussion of the exciting future of self-driven cars and how to apply the principles of good design to save the planet from ourselves. Just the vade mecum for the smart teenager in the family and eminently pleasing reading for grown-up nerds as well. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Still popular three decades after its inception, Bill Nye the Science Guy turned its eponym into a celebrity. The show's origin forms one of many autobiographical anecdotes Nye shares in a work that stands, overall, as his call for action against climate change. Had he stuck with his career in mechanical engineering, Nye's views would not likely enjoy their large potential audience; as it was, in youth he performed stand-up comedy, which sinuously led to the Science Guy persona. It animates these pages still; with humor, Nye espouses his earnest convictions about the importance of rational, scientific thinking, which he asserts repeatedly is under attack from deniers of climate change. Describing numerous instances from his family and professional life, in which he solved problems with methodical logic, Nye avers that the same approach must prevail lest humanity and the environment fall into crisis and catastrophe. Nye also expounds his view of the U.S. Constitution, his prediction of self-driving electric cars, engineering details about his sartorial trademark, the bow tie, and support for space programs and renewable energy.--Taylor, Gilbert Copyright 2017 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
Bucolic Evil: "Word has gotten out that if you write about the Amish, you can sell books." So says a young Amish woman quoted in Valerie WeaverZercher's 2013 study, "Thrill of the Chaste," about the popularity of Amishthemed romance novels - and, to judge from the success of the crime writer Linda Castillo, what's true of romance is also true of murder. Castillo's bestselling Kate Burkholder mysteries feature the police chief of a fictional Amish town, Painters Mill, Ohio; the ninth entry in the series, "Down a Dark Road," enters the hardcover fiction list at No. 14. How did Castillo, who is not Amish herself, come to write about the community? "I'm originally from Ohio and so I was aware of the Amish growing up," she told me by email. The idea for the first Burkholder book struck during a "happenstance trip" to Amish country. "As a writer I love the juxtaposition of such a bucolic setting and the introduction of evil into it," she said. "I knew I'd found the perfect setting. The Amish culture is a bit of a closed society, and I was fascinated by the mystery of that, too." I wondered how Castillo's Amish audience feels about her outsider's portrayal. "The Amish are readers and encourage their kids to read," she said. "One gentleman attended one of my book events and told me he loved the book. Most responses are positive, but I did receive a letter from another Amish man who said he was offended. I do my best to depict the Amish culture in an honest and realistic way, but he took issue with the level of violence." This deep into the series, Castillo said, she has become "obsessed with learning everything I could about the culture. I travel to Amish country every year.... They've invited me into their homes and farms and I've learned much from that one-on-one interaction. One of the Amish men even let me drive his buggy, which was a fascinating and fun experience. The more I learn ... the more my respect for them and their way of life grows."
