Very Interesting...

I first learned about Elizabeth Holmes on 60 Minutes and so when I saw Bad Blood:  Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, I knew I had to get it.  Whoa.  This woman has some serious problems.  I would feel sorry for her, and I do, but these are health issues here.  I am so glad that her lies were exposed so that others lives were not lost.  I do hope she gets the help that she needs...because she really needs some!  The book is a very fast read and well done!

Science Doesn't Get It Wrong, but Sometimes Scientists Do

Pandora's Lab:  Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong was super good!  I listened to a podcast with the author after having listened to the book and he said that the subtitle of his book was probably not a good one, because like my blog post title says, he said that it isn't SCIENCE that gets it wrong, it's the people doing the science.  And Dr. Offit says that the only way to be sure is to test and test and gather data and data and data and make sure and do the science right and let it have its say. 
I liked this book even before I got the end and heard the brilliant things he had to say about e-cigarettes! 
The seven stories in here are all really interesting (not in the order in which they appear in the book, just how they came to my mind). 
1.  The Opioid Epidemic 
2.  Trans fats
3.  DDT
4.  The Vitamin C Cure
5.  Lobotomies (which mentions the TransAllegheny Lunatic Asylum)
6.  Eugenics
7.  Chemical Weapons
I am reading this for a book group but I bet we won't get to meet as the last time we didn't get to meet, but I am glad I read it anyway!  I can't wait to read his other stuff!

Ambulances

Whenever I hear or see an ambulance with lights and sirens I find myself often making the sign of the Cross and saying a little prayer for those inside.  I am thinking of the patient and the their family, but after reading A Thousand Naked Strangers:  a Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back, I will be sure to pray for the EMTs and medics (the same thing as paramedics) who are attending to the patient.  Kevin Hazzard's book really made me see what these folks do.  I really appreciated all that I learned.  Like the difference between a paramedic and an EMT.  And the difference between 911 ambulances and transport ambulances.  This was a good book.  I read it for my nonfiction book group.  I just wish that it had been a little longer.  It seemed really fast.

Not Typical, but Typical

Breakthrough:  how one teen innovator is changing the world is the nonfiction story of Jack Andraka, a science whiz kid who came up with a way to do early testing for pancreatic cancer.  He is also gay which I say just because his coming out story plays a large part in this book and it could serve to be inspirational to kids who are wanting to or thinking about coming out.  He also has a lot of experience, sadly, with being bullied, for his brains and his sexuality.
There is no doubt this kid is a genius.  No doubt.  And so in that way, he is not "typical" but this story, told in his own words, shows that he is a "typical" kid to whom others can relate if they have ever been the victim of bullying behavior.  Even by some adults.