Hidden Figures looks at the careers of three black women in NASA (all amazing mathematicians): Katherine G Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan. It mixes their history alongside that of events in the United States, such as the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War. Continue reading
In the first episode of Science Fiction Double Feature, I talk to Paige Orwin about the amazing The Interminables and discuss the history of magic with Professor Frank Klaassen. Continue reading
One of the things that I found fascinating when studying the Reformation was the discovery of reliquaries. These objects, containers holding all sorts of religious emblems of veneration (from the last breath of Christ to hands, ribs, feet, blood, pieces of the true cross and everything in between) were far outside my cultural framework. Having … Continue reading
Wow. So, I should know a lot about Moncure Conway, but I don’t. I’m rectifying that knowledge gap this year, for multiple reasons (one being PhD reasons). So I picked up Southern Emancipator: Moncure Conway: The American Years, 1832-1865 from the delightful library at Conway Hall (Conway Hall named after him, of course). It’s hard … Continue reading
I think I picked up this book by Grant Morrison at the comics exhibition at the British Museum. I have read a few comics by Morrison, like Joe the Barbarian and All Star Superman. I enjoyed both. So in the post-script to the paperback edition, he describes Supergods as a subjective history. Ah ha ha … Continue reading
The ends of the earth is the smooshing together of two anthologies about the arctic and antarctic. It’s a mixture of both the best fiction and non-fiction stories about these two interesting places. I think I preferred the old journals of the first explorers and the science excerpts more than any of the non-fiction prose. … Continue reading
My classics knowledge is about 12 years old now, and only a first year undergraduate class at that, so it nice to read about it once again. Mary Beard’s book is excellent in a many ways. Here are a few of my highlights. Firstly, despite all the history, latin and complicated life and law of … Continue reading
