Mind, Life, and Universe: Conversations with Great Scientists of Our Time

In this invigorating collection, American microbiologist Margulis and popular Spanish science TV-show host Punset do an excellent job making high science palatable, understandable and even exciting to lay-readers. The book is divided into four parts, and many of the interviews in Parts I and II concern the basic structure of the human brain and how different researchers study its evolution and development. The candid interviews unveil the origins of the curiosity that drives scientists to study particular questions-William Day's dissatisfaction with the standard models for the origin of life, why Steven Strogatz is intrigued by simultaneity and cyclicity. Part III delves into evolution and human history, but readers may find Part IV the most interesting, as it touches on such varied topics as time travel, other dimensions and ""atomic consciousness."" Chapters are short, move briskly and make ideal bedtime (or even beach) reading. Readers with even a casual interest in science will want to take a look.