I don't really want to turn this blog completely over to bitching about the poor representation of science in "Year's Best" lists of books, but it's that time of year when every media outlet puts out their lists of favorite books, so it's hard not to talk about it. Today's list is from the Washington Post's Holiday Guide, where they helpfully break their non-fiction list down into categories. By my count, there were 94 non-fiction books listed, divided among 11 categories:
- Arts: 7
- Biographies: 17
- Culture and Society: 9
- Current Events: 8
- Foreign Affairs: 9
- History: 23
- Literature: 2
- Memoirs: 9
- Religion: 2
- Science and Medicine: 5
- Travel: 3
Hey, science books! Well, science and medicine, anyway. Actually, mostly medicine:
- The Body Has a Mind of Its Own, by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee
- Cheating Destiny, by James S. Hirsch
- Musicophilia, by Oliver Sacks
- Passions and Tempers, by Noga Arikha (Ecco)
- Vaccine, by Arthur Allen
Their list of biographies also includes an Einstein biography, though not the Isaacson one that got a lot of press.
They could stand to have a wider range of stuff, but at least it's a clear step up from the Times...