快猫短视频

A HEDGE and a horror, light and dark science鈥攖here鈥檚 an eclectic bunch of paperbacks this month. Roy Moxham鈥檚 The Great Hedge of India describes his search for an extraordinary barrier stretching a thousand miles through northern India in the late 19th century. Thorny trees鈥攖he Indian plum, prickly pear and acacia鈥攆ormed an impenetrable living wall about 5 metres tall. Its purpose was to control the trade in salt, which was taxed heavily to swell the coffers of the British. Follow Moxham on his indefatigable hunt for the Great Hedge through libraries, across fields and in and out of villages across the Punjab. Moxham deals with both the science of salt and the desperate measures people took to get salt that was free of the hated British taxes.

Horror lurks underwater in Michael Capuzzo鈥檚 Close to Shore. The BBC plans to broadcast this grisly shark tale in time to discourage summer swimming in the Northern hemisphere. Capuzzo鈥檚 great white shark attacked swimmers off the coast of New Jersey in 1916. Hardly anyone believed it possible鈥攖he received wisdom was that sharks didn鈥檛 prey on humans. If all this sounds familiar, the attacks in the summer of 1916 were the inspiration for Peter Benchley鈥檚 Jaws.

Now for a 鈥渓ighter鈥� tale: Brian Clegg鈥檚 wonderful Light Years. He covers not only the science but also the art of light, some of it surprisingly early. In 1734, Louis Bertrand Castel played what must have been the first light and music concert. Keys on his clavichord shifted coloured tapes in front of candles to produce light patterns. 鈥淎n extraordinary book鈥�, said our reviewer.

For the darker side of science, you can鈥檛 beat Robert Park鈥檚 Voodoo Science. He picks out the distinctions between, for example, pathological science in which scientists fool themselves, and pseudoscience created when scientific uncertainty is propped up with religious or political beliefs. Park writes to the point and is a great read. You鈥檒l enjoy his piece on the failed attempt to sue power companies over cancer supposedly caused by electromagnetic fields.