Bold Science

Science is at a crossroads. Cold War-era easy money for grand-scale projects has become a thing of the past. And yet, in this new environment, science seems to be reinvigorating itself, moving away from an overly specialized, bureaucratic mindset to a more streamlined, multidisciplinary approach. In a number of fields, innovative teams led by gifted researchers are combining imaginative methods with inexpensive tools to chip away at the previously impenetrable secrets of the body, the mind, the planet, and the universe. In the process, they are demonstrating the same kind of inspired drive toward discovery that led Galileo to invent the telescope. B"old Science" examines this "scientific new wave" by profiling the work of some remarkable researchers: gene hunter Craig Venter, neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, astronomer Geoffrey Marcy, immunologist Polly Matzinger, cosmologist Saul Perlmutter, ecologist Gretchen Daily, and evolutionist Carl Woese. Headstrong, iconoclastic, visionary, these scientists have risen to the pinnacles of their fields at a pivotal moment--and are producing amazing breakthroughs with bold, sometimes controversial methods. In exploring their scientific lives and times, "Bold Science" shows readers why we are at the dawning of a new era of understanding ourselves and our universe.

About the Author :
Ted Anton is an associate professor of nonfiction writing in the English department at DePaul University. His book, "Eros, Magic, and the Murder of Professor Culianu" (1996) received the Carl Sandburg Award for Nonfiction from the Friends of the Chicago Public Library and was an Investigative Reporters and Editors National Book Award finalist. Anton was the co-editor of "The New Science Journalists" (1995). His magazine work, for "The Sciences, Publishers Weekly, Lingua Franca, Chicago, the Chicago Tribune, " and other publications, has been cited three consecutive times in "Best American Essays" and was nominated for a National Magazine Award in Reporting in 1993. A former Fulbright Research Fellow, Anton speaks about science on radio and to university and industry groups.

Review :
"Through his deft profiles of seven scientific entrepreneurs, Ted Anton has convinced me that science may well be rejuvenated by a few individuals gifted with vision and determination." --John Horgan, author of T"he End of Science" and "The Undiscovered Mind" "Provocative portraits of provocative scientists . . . this book will dissuade you from the notion that all scientists are dull, boring nerds in white lab coats." --Barbara Osborne, Professor, Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Massachusetts "In" Bold Science," the ivory towers of academia crumble, revealing the flesh and blood scientists working in them. If you ever had any doubts that scientists are real people, this book should change your mind. Travel with them on the heavily rutted, windswept road to scientific success." --Neil F. Comins, Professor of Physics, University of Maine, and author of "What If the Moon Didn't Exist?" "The chapters soar beautifully, making real not only the science but the person. The Susan Greenfield and Geoff Marcy chapters are just incredibly compelling." --Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Sex on the Brain," Professor of Journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison "I found the chapter on Carl Woese to be quite exciting and engaging. Indeed, it was hard to put down once I began reading it." --John Tymoczko, Towsley Professor of Biology, Carleton College