The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive [Tapa blanda]

This terrific book first came to my attention when its author politely asked whether it would be okay for him to mention it in the technical newsgroup forums my company hosts. I had known of John through his many years as an occasional contributor in our forums, though I knew nothing of his being an author. Little did I know.

Now I have a copy, and I love it. When I take it with me to coffee, other regulars who have seen it before, grab it if I'm reading something else. We all love it because it is SO accessible (and these are people who are not nearly as geeky as me). Opening the book to literally any page pulls you in immediately. Even if you're not a traveller (I'm definitely not) the book is a compendium of bite-size world-wide technical history of innovation and invention -- in gratifying detail. No single topic is more than four pages long, so you can read many before your coffee gets cold. And you may be ordering a second cup, because this book is difficult to put down. You can read by region, or scan the table of contents for anything that looks interesting; The Escher Museum in the Netherlands, the Experimental Breeder Reactor #1 in Idaho, the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the Mendel Museum of Genetics in the Czech Republic, and 124 other notable places and times where something geeky and technologically important happened. I used to wonder how and where the speed of light was first measured. Now I know.

John has filled the pages not only with a discussion of interesting brief historical notes, but also with his own diagrams and explanations of every principle and discovery. He has a direct, straightforward, and clear writing style. And best of all for geeky readers like myself, he clearly knows what he's talking about. Unlike some authors who are disconcerting because you sense that they're not sure of their facts, you won't find any of that here. The technical content is precise and will satisfy the geekiest among us.

This book would be a bargain at twice Amazon's price of only $20. So think about getting two. Even if you are not a geek, you'll love this -- really. And I'll bet you know a geek who would value this just as much!

The Geek Atlas is a travel guide for locating the sites of significant math, technology, and science breakthroughs complete with little icons for each location indicating the availability of food, weather-suitability, and kid-friendliness. But "travel guide" barely begins to describe the wonder contained in the Geek Atlas. I prefer to think of this book as a geography-based survey of awesomely fascinating stuff no one ever told you, but that you'd love to know. Imagine having a smart uncle around to feed your brain tasty tidbits of knowledge. If you'd like to be that uncle, here's your guide. Open the book to any page and I guarantee you'll find a cool story or a neat technical explanation: the molecular structure of penicillin plus an explanation for how it works, the story of the first battery and the chemistry behind it, a thorough and detailed description of the structure and function of the lymphatic system, the temperature of space. Gobs of information about technology and science. I could live without this knowledge, but being a geek myself, I wouldn't want to!

Take, for example, the entry on the Eiffel Tower. From the Geek Atlas we learn that the Eiffel Tower was built with puddle iron "which has a higher carbon content than wrought iron and therefore more tensile strength. Puddle iron is made by mixing the pig iron from a blast furnace with iron oxide (rust) and puddling it (stirring the molten mixture)." The Eiffel Tower section continues with a description of Eiffel's engineering approach to the tower's wind resistance: "In 1885, Eiffel wrote a paper for the French Society of Civil Engineers in which he described the most significant part of the tower's design -- he had eliminated any diagonal bars by ensuring that stress from the wind was transmitted exclusively down the exterior of the tower. This design dictated a specific curving shape." As familiar as the Eiffel Tower seems, I knew none of this!

I love this book. Give it to a curious kid, a dad or mom with kids, or devour its pages on your own. If you're a geek, or a lover of science and tech, this book's for you.

A recent search on Amazon for travel guides returned over 30,000 results. Most of these are standard travel guides to popular tourist destinations which advise the reader to go to the typical tourist sites. The Geek Atlas: 128 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive is a radically different travel guide. Rather than recommending the usual trite destinations, which are often glorified souvenir stores, the book takes the reader to places that make science real and exciting, and hopefully those who exit such places are more knowledgeable than when they went in.

Irrespective of its travel content, The Geek Atlas is a unique and fascinating read for the information and overview of its wide range of topics. If there is a fault in the book, it is with its title. When people see Geek Atlas, they might think that this is a book that takes the reader to boring and obscure places, which is the exact opposite of its intent.

Author John Graham-Cumming writes that you won't find tedious, third-rate museums, or a tacky plaque stuck to a wall stating that "Professor X slept here". Every place he recommends is meant to have real scientific, mathematical, or technological interest.

Each of the books 128 chapters is separated into 3 parts: a general introduction to the place with an emphasis on its scientific, mathematical or technological significance; a related technical subject covered in greater detail, and practical visiting information. So while you may not be able to make it to the Escher Museum (chapter 29) in The Hague, Netherlands; the information on how M.C. Escher used impossible shapes in which the chapter describes is a fascinating read on its own.

Graham-Cumming notes that a disappointing trend with science museums today is a tendency to emphasize the wow factor without really explaining the underlying science. He notes the following 3 attributes of such museums: a short name ending with an exclamation mark, a logo featuring pastel colors or a cuddle cartoon mascot, or an IMAX theater.

Why does the book specifically have 128 places listed? See chapter 58, for the National Museum of Computing in Bletchley, UK. Graham-Cumming notes that your average travel guide would have listed perhaps 100 or 125 places. 128 is a round binary number (10000000). Of course, those who are binary obsessed might wonder why this book is not titled 10000000 Places Where Science and Technology Come Alive.

The 128 places listed are for the most part divided equally between sites in Europe and the USA, with a few in the Far East and Russia. A complete listing of the sites is mapped on the books web site. Africa for some reason seems to be left out and perhaps a follow-up volume will fill that void. Of course, one could argue that Africa has had a minimal contribution to the world of science, mathematics and technology. Nigeria for example is famous for its 419 advance-fee fraud, but not its overabundance of contributors to physics.

For the US locations, there are locations for 25 states, with California being the biggest with 7 suggested places to visit. With that, it is surprising that the book lists the HP Garage, given that it is not open to the public and only serves as a shack to be photographed. Other places such as the US Navy Submarine Force Museum and MIT Museum are indeed more visit worthy.

The tours of some of the sites, like the HP Garage will take less than an hour or so (chapter 42 -- Bunhill Fields Cemetery, London, UK), while others one can spend a half or full-day at the site.

While The Geek Atlas is touted as a travel guide, it is much more than that. Its 128 chapters are a wide-ranging overview of science and mathematics. Topics run the gamut from physics and pharmacology to transistors and optics. In fact, the book would make a superb syllabus for an introduction to science course. The plethora of subject covered, combined with its easy to read and absorbing style makes it a fantastic book for both those that are scientifically challenged, yet curious, and those that have a keen interest in the sciences.

The Geek Atlas is a fascinating and enjoyable read; in fact, it I found it hard to put down. Lets hope the author is working on a sequel with the next 256 additional places where science and technology come alive.