Hal Harris

Diane Ravitch was one of the architects and leading exponents of No Child Left Behind, but she has reversed field completely, and has become one of only a few very prominent critics of its Obama-Duncan incarnation, Race to the Top.

I want to admit to my addiction.  I have become a rabid fan of Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight (http://http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/) blog on the presidential and senatorial polls that culminate in the November 6 election.

I picked up this book at the ACS National Meeting in Philadelphia in August, expecting that it would be a compilation of interesting chemistry anecdotes, organized around the chemistry involved.

Joe Schwarcz runs the McGill University Office for Science and Society, teaches chemistry and environmental topics, writes for two newspapers and has a national radio program. He is the most prominent public spokesman for science in Canada, and I have highlighted several of his previous books as "Picks".

Four years ago, I gave a very positive review to Richard Muller's "Physics for Future Presidents", despite his very lukewarm treatment of climate change which, in my opinion, had more than enough scientific gravitas by that time to be treated as a legitimate national and international issue.