qebo's 2015 non-fiction

Returning for another year...

January
#01: Mendel in the Kitchen by Nina V. Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown -- (Jan 11) - ROOT
#02: The Bird Market of Paris by Nikki Moustaki -- (Jan 18) - ER
#03: Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges -- (Jan 24) - ROOT
#04: Culture Shock! Korea by Sonja Vegdahl Hur and Ben Seunghwa Hur -- (Jan 26) - new (used)

February
#05: Food, Inc. by Peter Pringle -- (Feb 19) - ROOT
#06: Headstrong by Rachel Swaby -- (Feb 27) - ER

March
#07: Soldier Girls by Helen Thorpe -- (Mar 10) - new (used)
#08: Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman -- (Mar 24) - ROOT
#09: Blood of the Tiger by J. A. Mills -- (Mar 29) - ER

April
#10: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande -- (Apr 4) - new
#11: Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne -- (Apr 5) - ROOT reread

May
#12: The Theft of Memory by Jonathan Kozol -- (May 1) - ER
#13: On Writing by Stephen King -- (May 8) - new
#14: Conundrum by Jan Morris -- (May 16) - new

#1: Mendel in the Kitchen by Nina V. Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown -- (Jan 11)

why now: Wanted to know more about GM food pro and con, started with this book because I already had it for reasons I don’t recall.

Nina Fedoroff is a plant geneticist, and this book accordingly is focused on science. The gist of her position is that genetic modification is a response to pressures on the agricultural system with increasing demand and decreasing resources. Although concerns are legitimate, opposition is often based on sensationalized reports of flawed studies. The plausible consequences are manageable, not catastrophic. You can take this as insider awareness of altruistic motives and professional competence, or as an establishment position biased toward mollifying the public. Whichever, this is a useful book that describes genetic modification in detail (with diagrams!), and covers a range of relevant issues.

Several chapters describe traditional and relatively modern methods of molding plants to our purposes: domestication of wild species by breeding and selection, hybridization, protoplast fusion, inducing mutations with radiation or chemicals. We accept synthetic fertilizers and grafting and all manner of garden vegetables developed by trail and error. Why not genetic modification? The procedure for creating GM plants is not a sudden leap over a boundary between nature and not; decades of scientific discoveries and technological innovations were gradually tied together. Even with the general sequence settled, each step involves years of research and experimentation. Here are the essentials:

* Identify a gene of interest, i.e. a gene that produces a protein that has the desired effect: pesticide, immunity to herbicide, nutritional enhancement.
* Isolate and cut the gene from the source DNA.
* Splice the gene into the plasmid (ring of DNA) of Agrobacterium tumefaciens; these bacteria in nature insert a piece of plasmid into plant cells, causing formation of galls that produce food for the bacteria.
* Splice a marker into the plasmid, e.g. a gene that is resistant to a particular antibiotic.
* Grow a culture of cells from the target plant.
* Add the Agrobacterium tumefasciens to the plant cells, and wait for it to insert the gene.
* Apply the antibiotic to kill plant cells without the gene, and keep plant cells with the gene.
* Apply a hormone to the plant cells so they grow into complete plants, all containing the gene but possibly in different locations on the chromosomes.
* Test the plants, choosing those with the desired trait and without other discernible changes.

Concerns fall into three general categories: food safety, ecological impact, corporate power. What if the promoter gene attached to virus resistant GM plants activates other genes? What if the antibiotic marker transfers antibiotic resistance to gut bacteria and disease bacteria? What if GM plants cause allergic reactions? What if GM plants that produce various strains of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) toxins kill not only the target insects but beneficial insects also? What if GM plants that are immune to herbicides promote use of herbicides that poison people? What if insects evolve to resist the pesticides produced by GM plants? What if GM plants contaminate the gene pool? What if mega-corporations seize control of the food supply with patented organisms? Regarding food safety, the approach to reassurance is molecular, describing how proteins operate and interact with the chemistry of potentially affected organisms; what is toxic to an insect may have no effect whatsoever on a person. Regarding ecological impact, the stance is that no problem is unique to GM plants; EPA and USDA and FDA regulations should be revised to focus on effects, rather than scrutinizing GM plants and ignoring plants with similar attributes created by other methods. (There is one jarring passage in which a monarch butterfly “spins a cocoon”, suggesting the author is a bit out of her element.) Regarding corporate power, this seems not to be of much interest; a few incidents are mentioned, as if with a shrug that corporations will be corporations.

In the author’s opinion, the fundamental issue is sustainability. The human population cannot revert to traditional practices and fit on the planet; the challenge for the future is how to produce more food, on the same area of land, with less ecological impact. This requires a collaboration of biotech and organic expertise and sensibility, not polarization. The science of genetic modification is immature, but the way forward is to improve it, not to squelch it. Recommended for its informative science and its moral argument; for criticism, look elsewhere.

#2: The Bird Market of Paris by Nikki Moustaki -- (Jan 18)

why now: Keeping up with ERs. This one is from November.

I’m not sure who is the target audience for this memoir of birds and alcohol. I requested the ER because of the birds. Nikki Moustaki is knowledgeable, the author of books about caretaking and breeding, but in this book the birds are obsession and symbol, a bond with beloved grandfather Poppy. Poppy was a fashion designer, a native of Corfu who had arrived in Miami via Cairo and Paris with his wife and son. He raised pigeons and told stories and doted on Nikki, who was otherwise lonely and adrift. When a boyfriend gave her a baby lovebird, she was smitten by its vulnerability. The lovebird led to an aviary as the boyfriend faded away, and meetings with other aficionados led to writing about birds and beyond. And then the aviary was hit by a hurricane. And then Poppy died while Nikki was in New York, unable to extricate from school and work commitments. Nikki numbed her guilt and grief with alcohol. She does not spare herself in descriptions of her deterioration. It was ugly, and it continued until a chance conversation on a New York street with a man who carried a parrot on his shoulder. There began her wobbly recovery, with a pivotal episode in the Bird Market of Paris: one of Poppy’s stories, and her hope for redemption. This isn’t a book that I’d actively seek, but I found it both brave and affecting.

#4: Culture Shock! Korea by Sonja Vegdahl Hur and Ben Seunghwa Hur -- (Jan 26)

why now: Saw a mention in an LTer thread last year and was curious so I got a used copy, began reading in bits, set it aside on a table where it got buried. Rediscovered it while cleaning up over the weekend.

This book was originally published in 1988 and revised in 1993, so I suppose its relevance could be fading. It is geared toward businessmen temporarily transferred to Korean companies, and seems a useful guide to etiquette and interpreting behavior. Since I’ve never been to Korea, and doubt I’ll get there any time soon if ever, I’m not in a position to test it for accuracy.

#6: Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science and the World by Rachel Swaby -- (Feb 27)

why now: December ER.

These 52 brief (3-5 page) biographies are organized by field of expertise or contribution (e.g. medicine, biology, physics, astronomy, technology, mathematics), then chronological order by birth date. The effect when reading cover-to-cover is of stepping forward through time then dropping back again repeatedly, watching a gradual yielding of social constraints; but the rule was to include only women who have died, which places the most recent career peaks in the 1950s-1970s, not exactly an era of equality. The book seems pitched to teenagers, with engaging anecdotes and the gist of the relevant science, a range of personalities but a common drive for discovery and invention. It is breadth rather than depth, but well chosen, and sure to inspire interest and further research.

(I am assuming that the typos, awkward grammar, and jarring colloquialisms of the review edition will be smoothed away before publication.)

#3: Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges -- (Jan 24)

why now: I bought it in anticipation of the movie, then read it after seeing the movie.

How much do you want to know about Alan Turing? This 675 page biography covers his personal and intellectual life in exhaustive detail. I read it because I’d seen The Imitation Game and was curious about accuracy (IMO, the movie sometimes plays fair with with necessary simplifications, dramatic exaggerations, conflations of characters and events, and sometimes distorts). Intentionally on principle, the personal and intellectual are entwined. This may be true to the spirit of Turing, but it can be tough going for the reader, never knowing when or where the path will wend through a history of societal attitudes toward homosexuality or a disquisition on cryptanalytic methods. If you set the book aside for a day and lose track of a mathematical buzzword, well, there’s an extensive index but good luck finding clear stepping stones. On a personal level, the biography is respectful and compassionate, appreciative of Turing’s integrity, quirks, humor, and unconventional brilliance. On an intellectual level, well, the author is a mathematician and perhaps too casually assuming of familiarity with, say, Hilbert and Gödel. The result is engaging here, educational there, and a slog in between. I admired the thorough research, but would’ve been happier with an abridged version.

#5: Food, Inc. by Peter Pringle -- (Feb 19)

why now: Described on this list as a balanced pro-and-con of GM food, another perspective after the very pro Mendel in the Kitchen.

This book is less about the science of genetically modified food, and more about the politics, presenting incidents that entered mainstream news reports, and delving into behind-the-scenes actions and motivations of the various players: scientists, corporations, activists. Not wholly satisfying if one is seeking a definitive conclusion, but useful to get a sense of what’s fact and what’s spin.

Happy to see the review of Mendel in the Kitchen, as that's a book I should read. I've been dismayed by automatic "of course it's all bad!" reactions to GM foods, as if we aren't overpopulating the earth... I suppose part of it is that we're so much more aware of past assurances of things being safe and fine turning out to be very wrong, but it's not really possible for the majority of people to not buy those products. We know so much it's harder to accept that we can't know everything, maybe. I have two chronic illnesses and worry about being on various medications in the long term, since there generally aren't studies about what being on X pill for 10 or more years might do, but in the end I don't have a choice.

>9 mabith: I think there are some real issues with genetic modification that Mendel in the Kitchen doesn't thoroughly address, and yes, long term consequences require long term time. I’m not concerned about the food, given reasonable precautions. I’m more concerned about the environment, especially plants that include pesticides or are resistant to herbicides, and Mendel in the Kitchen is a bit too cavalier; figuring out the various interactions w/ wildlife, and devising and enforcing agricultural protocols, etc. are not trivial. And then there are patents. These issues are not unique to GM, so in a way it’s not fair to get especially freaked out by GM, but politically that’s what’s available to latch onto with not wholly unreasonable anxieties. I’m more in the middle ground camp, that technology will neither save nor destroy the world; GM is a tool worth developing but not exempt from criticism.

Ah, maybe I'll wait for a different book then. The environmental concerns are what I worry most about too. Even aside from how they'll affect insects, etc... there's the issue with biodiversity and not setting ourselves up for a potato-famine type of situation.

>11 mabith: Take a look at the list of books I linked to in >8 qebo:, and to that site in general. For example this debate, which from its description addresses ecosystem issues; it's long and I haven't listened to it yet, but intend to. It seems to be an honorable effort to collect and assess information and opinions.

#7: Soldier Girls by Helen Thorpe -- (Mar 10)

why now: The March selection for my RL non-fiction book group.

Three women who enlisted in the National Guard pre-9/11, and were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Nothing extraordinary about the women, their circumstances, their experiences; and this is the strength of the book, a meticulous recording of decisions made, lives disrupted, bonds formed.

#9: Blood of the Tiger by J. A. Mills -- (March 29)

why now: January ER.

Even if you are aware of the alarmingly plummeting population of wild tigers (and elephants and rhinoceroses) this book is enlightening, written by a professional activist (the author began as a journalist, married a bear expert, and via a trip to China segued to tigers), covering two decades of negotiations among government representatives and conservation advocates. You might not expect a series of international conferences to be a page-turner, but it is, because the stakes are high, the players are passionately engaged, the disagreements are rampant even among people essentially on the same side: sticklers for protocol vs maverick muckrakers, purists vs compromisers. And it is not all meetings. But be warned: it is infused with disturbing scenes of gruesome cruelty to animals.

#12: The Theft of Memory by Jonathan Kozol -- (May 1)

why now: March ER, requested because I’ve read pretty much everything else by Jonathan Kozol, mostly in the deep past before LT.

Harry Kozol was a neurologist and psychiatrist, acutely aware of the diagnosis and prognosis when he developed symptoms of Alzheimer’s at age 88. He lived to age 102. This book covers his deterioration in a nursing home that fell short of ideal (though it was the best that a prominent doctor and his famous son could arrange), and eventual return home (where his wife, slightly older and very frail but mentally intact, referred to him as “the baby”) after a team of caretakers had been established, entwined with episodes of his career (reconstructed from notes and interviews, perhaps selected to represent his public persona but tinged with name droppiness) and the relationship of father and son (an ambitious immigrant at the top of an elite profession was not fully supportive when his son opted off a similar path to advocate for civil rights through public education). It’s not, and not meant to be, a complete portrait of person or family; father as doctor seems viewed from a distance, mother and sister have minor roles. This is both a weakness, raising questions, and a strength, a narrow focus on loss.