In Sunday's Book Review: 'A People's History of Science,'
by Clifford D. Conner
=====================================================

Review by JONATHAN WEINER

Clifford D. Conner thinks snobbery has distorted the writing
of history from ancient times to the present. In writing
about science, for instance, historians celebrate a few great
names - Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein - and neglect the
contributions of common, ordinary people who were not afraid
to get their hands dirty. With "A People's History of
Science," Conner tries to help right the balance. The
triumphs of science rest on a "massive foundation created by
humble laborers," he writes.

Unfortunately, this people's history isn't very good with
people. Conner is too busy counterbalancing the Great Man
theory to tell us about, say, Newton's extraordinary mind.
The Great Man theory may not make a good history of science,
but neither does what you might call the Great Mass theory.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/books/review/18weiner.html?8bu&emc=bu

-----

'The Republican War on Science,' by Chris Mooney
Review by JOHN HORGAN

Chris Mooney's book is a diatribe, from start to finish. The
prose is often clunky and cliched, and it suffers from smug,
preaching-to-the-choir self-righteousness. But Mooney
deserves a hearing in spite of these flaws, because he
addresses a vitally important topic and gets it basically
right.

Mooney charges George Bush and other conservative Republicans
with "science abuse," which he defines as "any attempt to
inappropriately undermine, alter or otherwise interfere with
the scientific process, or scientific conclusions, for
political or ideological reasons."

In "politicized fights involving science, it is rare to find
liberals entirely innocent of abuses," Mooney asserts. "But
they are almost never as guilty as the Right." By "the
Right," Mooney means the powerful alliance of conservative
Christians - who seek to influence policies on abortion, stem
cells, sexual conduct and the teaching of evolution - and
advocates of free enterprise who attempt to minimize
regulations that cut into corporate profits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/books/review/18horgan.html?8bu&emc=bu