MAKE LOOKS AT BOOKS

Golden Boy

The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments by Robert Brent $100-$700, Golden Books (out of print) The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein $14, Villard Press

A few years ago, I read a bizarre and wonderful article in Harper’s Magazine by Ken Silverstein, called “The Radioactive Boy Scout.”

It was the true story of David Hahn, a boy who ended up collecting enough radioactive material that a Geiger counter could detect it from five houses away. In January 2005, Silverstein published a book based on the article, called The Radioactive Boy Scout: The Frightening True Story of a Whiz Kid and His Homemade Nuclear Reactor.

The article and book mention that young David had been inspired to practice chemistry after receiving The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments, which includes experiments on making chlorine, ammonia, hydrogen, and ethanol. The book is long out of print, and used copies are very expensive. In today’s litigious environment, no major publisher would dare republish a book that had actual chemistry experiments in it.

I have long wanted to own a copy of The Golden Book. A friend emailed me a scanned page recently, and it prompted me to search for a sub-$100 copy. I got lucky and found a free copy of the 112-page book, thanks to Bit Torrent ( mininova.org/tor/116968).

The book is an example of everything great about vintage children’s science books. Once you lay your eyes on it, you will come to the sad realization that our society has slipped backward in at least three important ways: 1) The writing quality in old kids’ science books was better, 2) The design and illustrations were more thoughtful and skillful, and 3) Children in the old days were allowed and encouraged to experiment with mildly risky but extremely rewarding activities. Today’s children, on the other hand, are mollycoddled to the point of turning them into unhappy ignoramuses.

I can’t wait to conduct these experiments with my daughters at my side.

—Mark Frauenfelder

Design Like You Give a Damn is a refreshing variant on the architectural
coffee table book, a fabulous and stimulating treat for the social-minded
maker. True to Kate Stohr and Cameron Sinclair’s philosophy of the open
sharing of ideas, it’s an artfully laid out book presenting architectural
and design solutions for disadvantaged communities. They start out
contextualizing the social design movement, and then move on to
examples. From temporary housing for refugees made out of paper
logs, to plastic-bag shelters that connect to external heating ducts for
the homeless, to a water pump powered by children at play, these are
out-of-the-square solutions for fabricating new worlds.

—Saul Griffith

Damn Good Design

Design Like You Give a Damn, edited by Architecture for Humanity $35, Metropolis Books