I picked up this book because I had some familiarity with the subject matter having worked in that field of biochemistry in the late '60s. That is probably the main reason I read the whole thing and enjoyed it.
This is very much a scientific biography. It's an interesting story of the evolution a scientific idea (The Chemiosmotic Theory) and how that idea came to be accepted by the scientific community. The originator of the idea, the imaginative, ambitious, passionate Peter Mitchell, had to fight for many years to see his theory finally accepted.
I was disappointed, however, that the book did not paint a fuller picture of Mitchell who had many interests outside of science which are (frustratingly) alluded to - music, architecture, farming, family - but never explored. For example, the authors state that family life was very important to Mitchell but give no examples of how a highly motivated scientist/entrepreneur managed to fit it in. Nor is there any sense of what domestic life was like living in an isolated research institute/manor/farm. In my opinion, if these aspects of his life had been more developed, the book would appeal to a wider audience and the reader would come away with a fuller appreciation of the man.
Technically, it is rather a choppy book. Each chapter is divided into subchapters, which detracts from its cohesiveness. Repetition of some points also gives the sense that the book was pieced together.
However, I did read the whole thing and found it an interesting study of how 20th century science works - or works imperfectly.

Besides the lack of fact-checking mentioned above, I was bothered by the lack of basic writing skills Webb displays. The occasional misplaced apostrophe I can ignore, but this book is rife with mistakes, the most annoying of them being the author's habit of using incomplete sentences.

However, if you're not bothered by that sort of thing, this book is a quick and interesting (if not particularly accurate) read.

Adam Webb has done a good thing by bringing attention to Dennis Wilson's wonderful music. But this book needed some decent editing and fact checking in a big way. Webb continually makes mistakes that even the novice Beach Boy fan would catch. For example by stating that Dennis was not at the "Surfin" sessions. It is well documented that Dennis was there, his voice is obviously on the recording, and he sang a lead line on the B-side "Luau". Webb also states that Dennis sang lead on "Catch A Wave". No. That was Mike Love. Webb states that Brian's song "Lay Down Burden" was on his BW solo LP when in fact it was on his "Imagination" LP. These kind of annoying errors are rampant in this book. It takes away from the believability and enjoyment factor in my opinion.

I think this book rates really well alongside Jon Stebbin's book on Dennis from last year. There is some overlap, but Webb concentrates more on the music and deflating some myths surrounding the Beach Boys most underrated member. Most people know about Dennis for his rock n roll lifestyle and association with Charles Manson, but few know that he also created an awesome body of music.

Maybe it's a little one-sided but there are some cool interviews with key collaborators and Webb writes strongly with a genuine passion for Dennis Wilson's work. If you're intruiged by what you read here I strongly recommend that you search high and low for a copy of "Pacific Ocean Blue".

Published in England. Nicely done. Lots of illustrations. Text is very interesting. The only problem is: it is too short. You can read it completely in under 10 minutes. They should have included more kings and queens and more detail on the ones they did include. Its billed as being a children's book, but the names of some of the kings and queens were difficult for me and I have a master's degree.

Dennis Severs restored 18 Folgate Street to an 18th-century time-warp. In this book, he takes the reader through a room-by-room tour of the house, peopled with imaginary characters.
It's a strange experience, very original and yet somehow frustrating. There's alot of suggestion verging on manipulation: "you close your eyes", etc. (or words to that effect) and somehow the author rather arrogantly pulls the strings with his "Now you see it, now you don't" (or, as Tim from Big Brother might have put it - "comprende?") Some readers might find their sensibilities a little insulted.

Having said that, it's creative and clever and there are some enjoyable aspects, particularly, for example, Severs's analysis of seeing the world in two's and three's. Some of the numerology is fascinating - I only wish the rest of the book had lived up to that standard.

Buy this book if you have deep pockets and will indeed open your own bank. But again, if you have that kind of money, chances are that you are already familiar with the nuts-n-bolts of the banking industry, in which case the book will not be of much use. In my opinion this book would be most useful for the banking industry analysts...

Many nice pictures but the title of this book may have reflected its contents better if it had been '1000 Inventions and Discoveries from mainly Europe, China, Egypt and the Middle East'. Although it mentions discoveries from 3,000,000 BC, there is practically no mention of any significant discovery from India. The thousands of potential readers of Indian origin and those who know about the great discoveries India has contributed to the world may not appreciate such an 'oversight'. ...