From My Library

[Editor's note: the C.O. petitioned us to allow him the chance to share his current reading list with the lovely and talented ScienceBlogs audience. As part of our policy to quash the rampant narcissism plaguing this nation, we initally declined, but he made us an offer we couldn't refuse, so here it is.]

Some interesting items currently on my bookshelf:

Auschwitz, A New History, by Laurence Rees

Simultaneously horrifying and compelling...a groundbreaking and complete picture of the most abominable destination in human history, or least since Homo Neanderthalensis became extinct...I still cannot fathom how Nazi physicians could assist in the selections and murders of women and children...a book that serves as a magnificent slap in the face to anyone in the healing arts who is feeling a little solipsistic petulance toward their career.

Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters, by Donald R. Prothero

The author is Professor of Geology at Occidental College and Lecturer in Geobiology at the California Institute of Technology and has written a massive history of the fossil record...he writes with poise and clarity how modern paleontological research continues to elucidate the greatest phenomenon ever regarding living things on our planet, namely evolution...reminds me to try and find my fossil collection, last seen I believe on a Saturday afternoon while searching for a pair of shoes to wear to my ninth grade school dance.

More like this

Hey, check this out: Dr. Donald R. Prothero recently retired from his professorship at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA after 27 years of teaching in order to concentrate on his writing and consulting. Dr. Prothero is an indefatigable advocate for geology and paleontology, which he combines…
I'm very excited to have the opportunity to interview Don Prothero this coming Sunday on Atheist Talk Radio. If you are local to the Twin Cities, you can listen in on AM 950. If not, you can get there via the Minnesota Atheist web site (where you will have to pretend you live in a twin cities zip…
I'll be interviewing Don on the radio in the AM, then, later that day: Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011, 1:30 p.m. Party Room of Larpenteur Estates 1276 Larpenteur Ave. W. St. Paul, MN 55113 (Park in the back of the apartment complex and go to the gap between buildings near the east end. Signs will point to…
Did you know that North America had its own species of zebra? Or that there was a wolf-like carnivorous mammal -- with hooves? And there once was a horned rodent whose corkscrew-shaped burrows are still visible today? If this sort of thing interests you then you will enjoy Donald Prothero's book,…