I think this is the best response I could possibly have had to the Worm book:
Hi Andrew
We read of your book in the FT about Sweden being great Swedophiles – it was a great book capturing lots of details about Sweden – that you can see but don’t really understand. Its still my favourite country.
Anyway that led to your Worm book – which started all these questions whirring in my mind – which in a space of two months has led me back to University. I have started an MSc course on Structural Molecular Biology – its just so fascinating and has rejuvenated me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep up with my daughter now!
Thanks
Isn’t that what pop science books are meant to do?
Indeed it is. That’s why, having read Hawking last night, I’m now on my way to the LHC to create black holes.
I work for a black hole, so why go to Cern?
That and make money.
Since we already work in Science (as an astronomers’ lackey) we feel slightly less guilty about not reading the wormbook.
But enquiring minds need to know: what are autobiographical ethnographies of Sweden “supposed to do”? (As an immigrant to the Netherlands with no further wanderlust, we wonder if we had better avoid that one too. Unless there’s a Swedish translation in the works – we wouldn’t be able to resist that.)