American Science and Nature

The book's first essay, John Cohen's "Zonkeys are Pretty Much My Favorite Animal," presents an intelligent and witty look at animal hybrids such as "zorses, wholphins, tigons, and beefaloes." Cohen balances scientific information about how these animals came to be along with an adventurous account of his meetings with them and the people who helped bring them into the world.

Those interested in criminology and crime scene investigation will enjoy the true mystery thrillers in this collection. James Geary's "The First Assassination of the Twenty-first Century" provides a fascinating account of how polonium-210 was found to be the agent of Russian Alexander Litvinenko's 2006 murder. Litvinenko, an ex-officer in the FSB (the successor of the KGB), was likely poisoned by a few grains of the isotope dissolved in his tea. One of the strongest emitters of alpha radiation, polonoim-210 is generally manufactured for industrial use, but this was the first instance of its use in a high-tech crime.

Author Jeffrey Toobin's "The CSI Effect" will capture the attention of CSI television series lovers with its story of Lisa Faber and the science of her career as a criminalist with the NYPD hair and fiber unit. Juries seem more captivated than ever by the "CSI-esque" nature of fiber evidence, Toobin reveals, and one of his interviewees admits that people are "'riveted by the idea that science can solve crimes.'"

Science aside, this collection also contains a few wonderfully-wrought essays on natural landscapes. The final essay in the book-Florence Williams' "A Mighty Wind"- is perhaps most compelling in this regard. In it, Williams travels to Samsø, an "eco-wonderland" of sorts. This small island just off the coast of Denmark is the most carbon negative settlement of its size on Earth, a feat achieved by the community's use of enough wind, solar, biofuel and other renewable technologies to supply itself completely and generate excess for others.

The tone of individual pieces in this book varies from persuasive and argumentative to simply entertaining, but each essay represents some of the best writing in its mode. Many of these essays originally appeared in reputable scientific and literary publications, including The New Yorker and Scientific American, and many of the writers, such as Oliver Sacks (Musicophilia) and Jeffrey Toobin (The Nine) have also published standout books in related areas.

The best of the best, this book lives up to the promise of its title. The essays it contains are spellbinding, smart, and sure to satisfy readers in countless ways.