Book Highlights, 10/13/10

Rosalind Franklin & DNA / Anne Sayre
Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) was a scientist whose “photographs of DNA were called ‘among the most beautiful X-ray photographs of any substance ever taken.’" Her photos were shown to James Watson who recognized the double-helix structure and rushed to publish the discovery; Watson, along with Francis Crick and Maurrice Wilkins, was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize for this discovery. Franklin never received credit during her lifetime.

The Fossil Hunter / Shelley Emling
Mary Anning, the daughter of a poor family in Lyme Regis, England, was a fossil hunter and dealer who made significant contributions to paleontology. Her discoveries included the first ichthyosaur skeleton to be correctly identified and the first pterosaur skeleton located outside Germany. Her observations contributed to the discovery that belemnite fossils contained fossilized ink sacs, and that coprolites, known as bezoar stones at the time, were fossilized feces.
[For a fictionalized story of Mary Anning, see Remarkable Creatures / Tracy Chavlier]

The Haunting of Hill House / Shirley Jackson
A supernatural thriller, The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. “It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.” (from Amazon.com;10/13/10)

Alas, Babylon / Pat Frank
As boys growing up in Ft. Repose, Florida, Randy and Mark heard a fire-and-brim-stone preacher railing about the end times; each fiery statement was followed by “Alas, Babylon.” The phrase became the brothers’ code for trouble, and as adults, their code for a nuclear attack.

One day, based on military intelligence, Mark sent a telegram, "Urgent you meet me at Base Ops McCoy noon today. Helen and children are flying to Orlando tonight. Alas, Babylon."