Books reviewed: A Mid-Year Reading Roundup

Tech Report's own take on the books that came across the desk — and nightstand — between July and September 2024.

This quarter's reading list is a mishmash of science fiction, engineering explainers, history, and a few misses. Here's what stood out.

Space, Science, and Skepticism

"A City on Mars" by Kelly and Zach Weinersmith is likely to frustrate readers looking for a technical deep-dive into Martian settlement. The authors devote only about 1% of the book to actual construction and engineering, preferring to explore politics, social structures, legal frameworks, and mental health. The result is a shallow take on science and engineering that leans heavily on techno-pessimism. If your interest is in the sociology of space exploration, this may be your book, but for a technical audience, it's infuriatingly weak.

"Is This Wi-Fi Organic?" by Dave Farina aims to build a case for debunking myths, particularly around alternative medicine, but falls short. Farina's method is to give a quick science primer, present a dubious claim, and then dismiss it as "clearly false" based on the preceding shallow primer. While entertaining, it lacks the conviction of evidence-rich debunking. For a better example of this genre, Simon Singh's "Trick or Treatment" provides much more supporting research and studies. Farina's book does earn points for its science-first, techno-optimistic stance.

The Biographies

"The Code Breaker" by Walter Isaacson chronicles Jennifer Doudna's life and the discovery of CRISPR, touching on the race for the patent, the ethics of gene editing, and its role in COVID vaccine research. While it's a competent biography, it's not Isaacson's best work — some sections are a real slog.

"Skunk Works" by Ben Rich stood out as a strong re-read this quarter. This personal memoir of Lockheed's legendary advanced development division covers the U-2, the SR-71, and the F-117 program in vivid, technical detail. Highly recommended.

Fiction and Memoir

"Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the first in a sci-fi trilogy, is a fantastic read about space-faring humans and, well, enhanced spiders. Highly imaginative and thoroughly enjoyable. This is a strong recommend to start the series.

"Mansfield Park" by Jane Austen fails to match the quality of her other works. The style is familiar — lives of the idle English gentry — but the characters lack the distinct development found in "Pride and Prejudice" or "Emma," and the first half of the book is very slow.

Two memoirs stood out on the other end of the spectrum: "On Writing" by Stephen King, which is technically a memoir of the craft, stands out not just for the writing advice but also for the heartfelt portrayal of his relationship with his family. The small drawback is the book is padded with tangential interviews that make it feel longer than it should be. And "Journeys North: The Pacific Crest Trail" by Barney Scout Mann, a wonderful memoir of thru-hiking the PCT, is another worthy read.

For something curious, "An Imaginary Tale" by Paul J. Nahin takes you through the history of the discovery and uses of the imaginary unit i. While it fills an important gap between pop science and math textbooks, it requires engineering-level mathematics and isn't a light page-turner. If you enjoy that kind of challenge instead of fantasy, the final chapter on complex analysis could be a headache, but the rest is an intellectually rewarding work.

"The Final Frontiersman" by James Campbell is a well-told biography about Heimo Korth and his family living as fur trappers in a remote, self-built cabin in northeastern Alaska, covering the period from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, is a unique and nice departure.

A Practical Guide and Others

Fans of the Engineering in Plain Sight author Grady Hillhouse from the "Practical Engineering" YouTube channel will find the book of the same title to be a worthwhile supplement. The writing is unmistakably Hillhouse — enthusiastic and clear — with gorgeous illustrations covering the same ground as many of his videos.

"Why We Sleep" by Matthew Walker and "The Art of Statistics" by David Spiegelhalter both made my shelf for their depth and insightful approaches. Meanwhile, "A City on Mars" has taken that shelf's primary space for the most disappointing title of the quarter.

Round out the list with “The Code Breaker” if you're a CRISPR expert, and skip the Austen favoritism unless you've exhausted her backlist. Not considered books of 2024 best lists, but solid engineering books for a rainy afternoon.

The Re-Reads

"Naked Economics" by Charles Wheelan, "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas, and "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich were this quarter's re-reads. All three hold up well; the latter is as good as it was the first time around — a story that deserves a reread.