HISTORICAL FICTION
âItâs certainly a thriller. Itâs tense, tense, tense. But the big thing in this novel is not just the tension, itâs the voices. Joseph OâConnor gives a masterclass in the different voices of the people gathered around the priest Hugh OâFlaherty to help him organise and run the Escape Lineâthe escape routes out of Italy for POWs and others being pursued by the Nazis. If you feel you know Rome, youâll find much to enjoy in the twists and turns of the streets, the hidden alleys, the sudden expanses and that ever-present âseethe of black waterâ, the Tiber. Itâs full Rome immersion.â Read more...
The Best Historical Fiction of 2024
Katharine Grant ,
Historical Novelist
NEW MATH BOOKS
âI wish Iâd read this book years ago. Bayesian statistics is all over my area of researchâand, as the book argues, itâs all over everywhere, and it has long been so. But the general public is not aware of this, and even many scientists, I think, are not aware of Bayesâ theorem. In a way, the book is pretty simple. Itâs about one equation, which calculates the probability of something, given a piece of evidence and your confidence in that evidence. Thereâs a way you go through, calculating the probability of some event, adjusting your calculations as new evidence comes inâand thatâs it, really. But the author does a great way of explaining how this is counter-intuitive to a lot of people.â Read more...
The Best Popular Science Books of 2024
John Hutchinson ,
SCIENCE BOOKS FOR KIDS
SCIENCE BOOKS
âRamakrishnan puts together all the evidence we have about the molecular and cellular biology of ageing and of cancerâand how this relates to mortality, and makes a very interesting point that I had never thought about, which is that there is a tension in the way our cells work in holding off ageing, but also holding off cancer. The two work at loggerheads; you donât want to get cancer, but also you donât want your cells to grow too old and to get too damaged to function. Preventing one can enable the other.â Read more...
The Best Popular Science Books of 2024
John Hutchinson ,
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