Scott J. Pearson

Priced Out: The Economic & Ethical Costs of American Health Care

By Scott J. Pearson | December 17, 2021December 17, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Since around 2005, I’ve attempted to learn the big picture of American healthcare while focusing on my little niche in the system. After 16 years (and several legislative bills with major changes), I find myself as befuddled by the economic organization as I was at the beginning. Before dying in 2017, Reinhardt was a leading voice in healthcare economics. A Canadian by citizenship and a German by birth but an American by living, he mastered…

Madame Curie: A Biography

By Scott J. Pearson | December 12, 2021December 12, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

A pioneer of radioactivity and radiation therapy, Marie Curie has an assured place in scientific history. Untold numbers have benefitted from her discovery – especially cancer patients. Further accolades upon accolades follow her name: two-time winner of a Nobel Prize (jointly in physics and alone in chemistry), first female Nobel laureate, wife and daughter of two other Nobel laureates, tireless supporter of her country in World War I, first female professor at Paris’ elite Sorbonne,…

Healthcare History

The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries & Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine

By Scott J. Pearson | December 6, 2021December 6, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Most Americans, heeding the news in 2020-2021 during the coronavirus pandemic, have some bits and pieces about how the “war” against the coronavirus was waged. Very few (yet) have a comprehensive view. Enter Borrell’s The First Shots. In it, he aims to provide a first-draft of a history describing the vaccine’s development. Resulting is an engaging and educational narrative that will inform generations to come. With many actors, Borrell tellingly provides “A Cast of Characters”…

Science

The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think

By Scott J. Pearson | December 5, 2021December 5, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

I try to respect nature and am honestly curious about how the natural world operates. However, despite an immense appreciation of life, I am no scientific specialist or ornithological hobbyist (i.e., bird-watcher). As such, I cannot judge the academic merits of this text, but I can appreciate the literary merits. Ackerman dramatically brings alive the lives of birds in a way that demonstrates that much more is going on than first meets the eye. The…

Kids

Sneezy the Snowman

By Scott J. Pearson | December 5, 2021December 5, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

“Aaaaaachooooo!” Sneezy the Snowman is catching a cold, and he needs to figure out appropriate ways to keep warm in the midst of winter weather. Since he is made of snow, he learns that he melts when around warm things like hot cocoa, a warm bath, or a fire. However, plenty of clothes can keep him from winter’s worst effects like sickness. This book, appropriate for kids in preschool up to early elementary school, teaches…

Fiction-Stories History

A Ballad of Love & Glory: A Novel

By Scott J. Pearson | December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Many historians consider America’s Mexican War of the 1840s to be an unjust war, one primarily waged to grab land for the extension of slavery and thus of human greed. Because of this motive and rampant nativism in the US Army, many immigrant soldiers deserted the American army to join the Mexican forces. This story tells of these soldiers’ formation of the Saint Patrick’s Battalion (many immigrants were Irish) and of their historical leader John…

History Software-Technology

The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography

By Scott J. Pearson | November 27, 2021November 27, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Hiding secrets (i.e., cryptography or the science of encryption) has become an increasingly important topic in the modern Information Age. It’s not just the stuff of the military and diplomacy. We cannot communicate secrets like credit card numbers over the Internet without it. In this book, dated around the turn of the millennium, Singh shares the history of encrypting messages. He begins to forecast its impact in the twenty-first century while noting exciting trends in…

Fiction-Stories

The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Stories by Edgar Allan Poe

By Scott J. Pearson | November 25, 2021November 25, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

Most English-language readers associate detective stories with the Sherlock Holmes series. However, these books, as famous and well-composed as they are, do not mark the first detective stories in world literature. Instead, that achievement falls to the great American literary giant Edgar Allan Poe. He wrote three short stories in the 1840s and published them in both America and France for literary prizes. Each readable in a short sitting, they continue to enchant readers with…

Management-Business Psychology Software-Technology

No More Teams! Mastering the Dynamics of Creative Collaboration

By Scott J. Pearson | November 21, 2021November 21, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

I wanted to read this book because I frequently saw it cited in contemporary business and management books. It talks at length about how to foster creative collaboration through the use of technology. It presaged a vision of a workplace with abundant computerized interactions. More impressively, it did so without foreseeing most of the impact of the Internet. Of course, the technologies described in this book are dated. Indeed, most of them are now in…

Healthcare History HIV/AIDS Politics

To End a Plague: America’s Fight to Defeat AIDS in Africa

By Scott J. Pearson | November 19, 2021November 19, 2021 by Scott J. Pearson

In the 1990s, scientists made significant advances to limit the impact of HIV upon human lives… in the West. However, HIV continued to flourish in sub-Saharan Africa, and it remained for the new millennium to limit its reach there. Bass’s book tells the story of the American effort in this quest that spanned multiple presidencies across both political parties. She concludes with its impact on the COVID pandemic. The effort to defeat HIV/AIDS is so…