Chasing Science: Science as a Spectator Sport

Frederik Pohl

Macmillan, Dec 19, 2003 - Science - 304 pages

Join science fiction master Frederik Pohl as he takes readers on a wonder-filled non-fictional journey from the ends of the earth to the edges of the universe. Part memoir, part travel guide, and part science primer, Chasing Science is Pohl's way of sharing the thrills and excitement of his life-long love affair with science. With the skill and storytelling zest that has made his award-winning science fiction popular the world over, Pohl brings to readers of Chasing Science all the excitement and fun that he's had throughout his life, as he has observed first-hand the process of scientific discovery. From tours of museums and national laboratories to a journey into the heart of a volcano, Pohl shows readers of all ages how and where they can experience the thrill of seeing various kinds of science, up close and personal.

This book is a perfect item for visitors to any of the several hundred hands-on science museums--like The Exploratorium in San Francisco, the Field Museum in Chicago, and others--across the country, a complete list of which appears as an appendix.

Contents

• A Love Affair How I Got Switched On to Science for the Fun of It: 9
• The Places Where Science Happens National Laboratories and Others: 13
• Staring into Space Astronomy in Your Backyard: 26
• The Big Eyes Visiting Observatories: 48
• Reaching for the Stars The Space Program: 76
• When the Earth Moves Volcanoes and Earthquakes: 97
• Water Water Everywhere Dams Locks Tsunamis: 119
• Wonders Underground Caves and Tunnels: 155
• Times Past Fossils and Archeology: 164
• The M Word What Scientists Speak: 184
• Shoptalk Meetings and Lectures: 191
• Science By Mail Publications Organizations Plus TV and the Web: 199
• Other Peoples Science Corpsicles Saucers and ESP: 203
• Science Everywhere Geographical Index of Places Mentioned in the Text Plus Science and Technology Centers All Over the World: 221
• Index: 291

About the author

Frederik Pohl has won all the major awards in the field of science fiction, including three Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards, both for Best Novel; the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, also for Best Novel; he was accorded the accolade of Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. He's also won three Hugo awards as editor of the best magazine. He edited the groundbreaking Star Science Fiction series of original-story anthologies. He and his wife, educator and political activist Elizabeth Anne Hull, live in Palatine, Illinois.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Chasing Science: Science as a Spectator Sport
• Author: Frederik Pohl
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Macmillan, 2003
• ISBN: 0765308290, 9780765308290
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Science / History