Welcome to Litsy!

A great mystery/modern police procedural. I enjoyed "Force of Nature" much more than "The Dry" (the first Aaron Falk) -- "Force of Nature" was much more focused, and had just the right amount of details about Falk's personal life. I thought "The Dry" focused too heavily on personal life, and the mystery element got muddled. The dual perspective narrative was done very well, and it kept me engaged and intrigued.

An interesting biography of an important scientist who I had never heard of before. Hager does an excellent job of placing Pauling's work and achievements within the context of the massive strides in physics, chemistry, and biology in the first half of the 20th century. Some of the parts on Pauling's activism seem very relevant to today's political situation. It is a little over long and repetitive at points, but still compelling.

"The encounter with DNA would become the stuff of legend in the literature that would spring up around its discovery. [James] Watson and [Francis] Crick would take center stage, with [Linus] Pauling assuming the smaller part of an offstage voice, a legendary Goliath in a far land felled by two unlikely Davids."

Just starting this biography of scientist and anti-nuclear testing advocate Linus Pauling. Above is a photo of his mother.