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Non-Fiction

Book reviews and reader log for Non-Fiction

The Cuckoo's Egg

★★★★☆
In the early days of the internet, one astronomer turned part-time sysadmin uncovers a hacker trying to steal sensitive military information

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A Short History of Nearly Everything

★★★★★
An engaging exploration of science and the natural world, making complex topics accessible to the casual reader

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Tracers in the Dark

★★★☆☆
Relooking at cyber-security and privacy in the insidious world of the dark web

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Masala Lab

★★★★☆
A scientific approach to cooking Indian food

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Aarushi

★★★★☆
Details the botched investigation and the media frenzy around a brutal murder of a teen girl

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We Should All Be Feminists

★★★★★
A poignant essay on what it means to be a feminist, and the case for feminism as the author defines it

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The Selfish Gene

★★★★☆
Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection is reaffirmed, but at what scale is the evolution happening?

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Man's Search for Meaning

★★★★☆
Neurologist and Psychologist Dr. Frankl details his experiences and observations from when he was a prisoner in the Nazi death camps

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Night

★★★★★
A brutal and gut-wrenching inside view of the holocaust

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Moonwalking with Einstein

★★★★★
An excellent chronicle of the author's journey to becoming a memory champion

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Fooled by Randomness

★★★☆☆
A treatise on the role of randomness in all ventures, and how everyone often models all behaviour on repeating that one random outcome

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Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization

★★★★★
Sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium. The six fundamental raw materials which have shaped humanity and the world we live in. This book takes an in-depth look at each.

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Chip War: The Fight for the Worlds Most Critical Technology

★★★★★
A well-researched and detailed account of the battle for control of what has emerged to be the most crucial resource in the world:- microchip technology

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Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

★★★★★
Medicine has leapt forward in recent times, with several new drugs and procedures which have reduced the life-threatening to minor inconveniences. But the goals of medicine often run counter to the needs of the patient. The author explores all sides.

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The Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures

★☆☆☆☆
A first-hand account of the hunt for two lions which terrorized the crew building a railway line in Eastern Africa.

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Into Thin Air

★★★★★
A personal account of the Mount Everest disaster of 1996 by one of the climbers.

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