Review: The Plant Messiah – Carlos Magdalena ****

With its neon green, floral cover and commanding The Plant Messiah title, I knew I had to pay the heartbreakingly expensive £20* just to read this book, whether I enjoyed it or not. So off I went, the poor biology student that I am, knowing that even if it were a tedious read, at least it would look good on the book shelf.… Read the rest

Review: Incognito (The Secret Lives of The Brain) – David Eagleman ****

Weaving eye-catching optical illusions and strange case studies together with a passion for his subject, David Eagleman’s Incognito is both accessible and challenging to the average reader.  The depths of the subconscious mind explored in this book address the age-old question: why do we do the things we do?… Read the rest

I, Superorganism: Learning to love your inner ecosystem – Jon Turney ****

I would call this book ‘surprising’, but that doesn’t even begin to do it justice. Turney takes the reader on the ultimate tour of our inner workings. Our bodies harbour trillions of microbes, and the majority of these help us go about our everyday lives.… Read the rest

Review: How to Speak Science – Bruce Benamran ***

I can’t remember a book where my mental picture of what the star rating would be has varied so much. At first glance, it looked like a solid 4 star title. It looks fun (despite the odd title – it sounds like it’s a book on public speaking for geeks) and a flick through showed that it covers a huge amount of science topics, mostly physics – so it was promising as a beginner’s overview. … Read the rest