What is the best book you've read for relaxation this summer?

1. "The Blank Slate" by Stephen Pinker (USA)

2. "The Science of Good and Evil" by Michael Shermer (USA)

3. "Paladin of Souls" by Lois McMaster Bujold (USA)

4. "The Blank Slate" by S. Pinker. Confirmed some beliefs; challanged
others...overall my most relaxing and interesting read. (USA)

5. "Guns Germs and Steel" byn Jared Diamond (USA)

6. I highly recommend the book "Betrayal, How Union Bosses Shake Down Their
Members and Corrupt American Politics." It was written by Linda Chavez
and is a shocking book on the abuses by powerful union leaders in the U.S.
An excellent book with lot's of references. (USA)

7. "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson (USA)

8. "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson (USA)

9. "The Unknown World" (USA)

10. "Emma Darwin; The Inspirational Wife of a Genius", by Edna Healey.

Purchased at Down House, during a visit in June, following attendance at
the Cambridge graduation of my New Zealand grandson. I had read several
excellent biographies of Charles Darwin and had developed keen admiration
for the marital partnership of Charles and Emma across their persistent
theological gulf. So I was very pleased to discover this biography of her
and to obtain its further insights into the remarkable personalities of
both partners.

I am now reading, with further pleasure, "Darwin's Ghost; the Origin of Species Updated", by Steve Jones, which I checked out of our local public library here in Lakewood, WA. (USA)

11. "Eats Shoots and Leaves" (USA)

12. "The Emperor's Code" by Michael Smith
Not the lightest of reading, but very informative about the workings of
intelligence organizations in Great Britain and the US featuring turf
wars, obstinate bureaucrats and brilliant codebreakers. Also, much of the
information did not become public knowledge until the 1990's. It contains
an account of the false story about how the US Govt. knew about the Pearl
Harbor attack before it occurred. I found it fascinating since I remember
the incidents of WWII from my childhood, but didn't understand the
workings and politics in the wartime governments. (USA)

13. "The Botany of Desire" by Michael Pollan (USA)

14. Ha! Wish I could confine myself to only one book. I've been reading the
Patrick O'Brian novels, starting with "Master and Commander" (there are 20
of them, so they take a summer to read!). They're more like an addiction
than an entertainment. As a biologist, I'm impressed with the biological
content described in connection with the adventures of Stephen Maturin,
the physician/naturalist/spy character. O'Brian must read Science; in one
of the novels I recognized a result published in Science in the 1970's,
accurately described! Caution, however: you also need a special
dictionary such as Dean King's "A Sea of Words" to follow all the nautical
action. (USA)

15. "Freedom Just Around the Corner. A New American History 1585-1828." by Walter
A. McDougall. An excellent review of English and New England histories. (USA)

16. "Evolution's Rainbow" by Joan Roughgarden. (USA)

17. "Islands of Silence" by Martin Booth. (USA)

18. "Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene (USA)

19. The series "The Dragon Riders of Pern" has been very interesting, and has
enough science in it to be fascinating. (USA)

20. The best book I read this summer for recreation was Kate Elliot's "Crown
of Stars" series. The last book has yet to come out, but "The King's
Dragon", "Prince of Dogs", "The Burning Stone", and "Child of Flame" were all
fantastic. I am eagerly awaiting the final book in the series, "Crown of
Stars".
Also, I finally read Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" which was fantastic, and
Peter Hamilton's "Fallen Dragon". Hamilton's other works (The Naked God
trilogy) was fantastic, and "Fallen Dragon" certainly lives up to his
standards. (USA)

21. "Superstrings and the Search for the Theory of Everything" by F. David Peat (USA)

22. "Hybrid" by Sawyer and "Napoleon's Button" (Canada)

23. A very good book that I read this summer was "The Lobster Chronicles". It
was very easy to read and also very informative. I enjoy learning about
new stuff when I'm not looking. This book was like that, very interesting
with lots of neat information without being pushy about it. It also told a
very interesting story. (USA)

24. "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. Fascinating and most enjoyable as are the other books that Dan Brown has written. (USA)

25. "The Fabric of the Universe" I found this book an excellent review of the physics theorys through the years. (USA)

26. "The Right Nation" is a very interesting read on the conservative movement
in the US, written by two regular contributors to the Economist. the
authors are John Micklethwaite and Adrian Wooldridge. (USA)

27. "The Fifth Woman" by Henning Mankell (USA)

28. "Darwin's Century" by Loren Eiseley (Germany)

29. My best book nomination has nothing to do with relaxation, indeed it is
immensely troubling, but a must read for all. It is "Running on Empty" by
Peter Peterson. (USA)

30. "Bushworld" by Maureen Dowd
Dowd is an Op-Ed contributor for the NY Times. She was a Whitehouse
reporter when G.H.W. Bush was President and she comes from a GOP family
that includes brothers who sarved as pages for Prescott Bush, a senator,
who happens to be the grandfather of the President. This provided a unique
insight for the book about the humorous columns involving G.W. Bush.

31. "Der Inszenierte Krieg" by Ulrich Tilgner (Switzerland)

32. "The Eternal Frontier" by T. Flannery. Great overview of the last 60 millions years of North America. (USA)

33. "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown (USA)

34. "A Traveller's Guide To Mars" by William K Hartmann (England)

35. "The Wild Muir : twenty two of John Muir's greatest adventures"
selected by Lee Stetson (USA)

36. "Drop City" by T.C. Boyle (USA)

37. "Rough Ascension and Other Poems of Science" (USA)

38. "Lonely Planets" by David Grinspoon (USA)

39. Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake" raises a lot of interesting futuristic
challenges. (USA)

40. "House of Sand and Fog" (USA)

41. "Enduring Love" by Ian McEwan. The protagonist is a science writer who'd
rather have remained in research. (USA)

42. "Skinny Dip" by Carl Hiassen (USA)

43. "The Memoirs of Elias Canetti", Joachim Neugroschel and Ralph Manheim,
trans. (USA)

44. "Middlesex" (USA)

45. "Hacking Matter" by Wil McCarthy. Quantum Dots and more. (USA)

46. "Red Sky at Morning" by Gustave Speth. (USA)

47. "Soul Made Flesh". A fascinating, well written account of medical research activity in
England during the 15-16 centuries. (Italy)