Interview with Emily Mayhew, author of The Four Horsemen: And The Hope Of A New Age
Emily Mayhew, author of The Four Horsemen: And The Hope Of A New Age recommends a great group of books! Before jumping into the interview, please check out Emily's book:
Review from Book Depository:
The Four Horsemen - War, Pestilence, Famine and Death - first appeared in the Book of Revelations a thousand years ago, but they continue to track us in our own time. This original and inspiring study by
celebrated historian Emily Mayhew traces the advances in science, technology and humanitarianism that are enabling us to take them on, one by one.
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The Four Horsemen: And The Hope Of A New Age
It begins in Mosul, our oldest surviving city, and the extraordinary coalition created in a matter of days to save its people from the worst horrors of the liberation battle against ISIS. As the city and the humanitarian operation that helped it to survive are restructured for a new age, Mayhew shows other people whose work gives us hope for the future, from the search to find new ways to discover and use antimicrobial medicines and the innovations in preventing the spread of deadly viruses; the laboratory work being taken to protect crops from disease and reduce famine, and why the potato, not the banana is the future; to the unique courage and resolution of those dedicated to securing the rights of the dead and their families.
Standing in the way of the Horsemen is what Emily Mayhew calls, 'the most extraordinary alliance ever to come together in defence of our humanity.' These are the doctors, scientists, statisticians, engineers, peace negotiators, pharmacists, historians, forensic scientists, vaccinators and volunteers who are creating solutions to life and death problems which threaten us all. They are the new heroes of our age and this book is about them.
Buy On:
Book Depository €14.89
Waterstones £12.99
Wordery $11.99
Q. Do you have a favourite smart thinking book (and why that book)?
The Mould in Dr Florey's Coat by Eric Lax. The true story of the discovery of penicillin and the development of its functionality as a therapy, including the role of war, industry and nationality in securing world-changing sucess. As the age of antibiotics comes to a close, it's good to know how it started.
Review from Book Depository:
Many people know that in 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin's antibiotic potential while examining a stray mould that had bloomed in a dish of bacteria in his London laboratory. But few realise that Fleming worked only fitfully on penicillin until 1935, and that he is merely one character in the remarkable story of the antibiotic's development as a drug.
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The Mould In Dr Florey's Coat: The Remarkable True Story Of The Penicillin Miracle
The others are Howard Florey, Professor of Pathology at Oxford University, where he ran the Dunn School; the German Jewish emigre and biochemist Ernst Chain; and Norman Heatley, one of the few scientists in Britain capable of the micro-analysis of organic substances. It was these three men and their colleagues at the Dunn School who would battle a lack of money, a lack of resources and even each other to develop a drug that would change the world. It was these three men and their colleagues who would be almost forgotten. Why this happened, why it took fourteen years to develop penicillin, and how it was finally done, is a story of quirky individuals, missed opportunities, medical prejudice, brilliant science, shoestring research, wartime pressures and misplaced modesty.
Buy On:
Easons €18.19
Book Depository €12.03
Waterstones £12.99
Wordery $11.99
Q. What's the most recent smart thinking book you've read (and how would you rate it)?
The Future of Dinosaurs by David Hone. I rate it very highly. It clearly explains the ambition and limitations that we always will have as researchers (such as politics will affect where we can go and dig for decades). And it is fully of really fascinating facts about dinosaurs, especially the new understanding of their colours and feathers.
Review from Book Depository:
Palaeontologist Dr David Hone tells us everything we know about dinosaurs - and everything we don't yet know. We have made more discoveries about dinosaurs in the last 20 years than we have in the previous 200, and there is a wealth of cutting edge research that has never been written about before, from their skin (some had feathers) to their extinction (the myth of the meteorite), much of which is David's own personal research and discovery. How does it feel to discover a new dinosaur? David Hone can tell you - he has personally discovered 12 new species himself.
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The Future of Dinosaurs: What We Don't Know, What We Can, and What We'll Never Know
And there is much still to discover. What colour were dinosaurs? Did they mate for life? How did they rear their young? Did they migrate in winter? How did they communicate? Did they eat fish? Just what are the T-Rex's tiny arms actually for? In The Future of Dinosaurs Dr David Horne shows us the extraordinary advances in palaeontological research that are starting to fill in these gaps, and sets out the future of dinosaurs for the next generation.
Buy On:
Easons €35.00
Book Depository €18.10
Waterstones £25.00
Wordery $19.25
Q. Do you have a favourite childhood book?
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The lead character is an intrepid girl who learns to get her hands dirty to discover what's been hidden and bring it into the light. I related very strongly to that growing up. I aspired to her friendships and I'm always supportive of robins in my garden in case it's a descendent of the robin from Misselthwaite Manor.
Review From Book Depository:
Rediscover the favourite childhood classic.
What little girl can turn a whole household upside down and breathe new life back into a strange, old manor? The wonderfully contrary, strong-willed, angry, misunderstood Mary Lennox.
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The Secret Garden
When Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle, everybody says she is the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It is true, too. Mary is pale, spoilt and quite contrary. But she is also horribly lonely. Then one day she hears about a garden in the grounds of the Manor that has been kept locked and hidden for years.
And when a friendly robin helps Mary find the key, she discovers the most magical place anyone could imagine...
EXTRA ACTIVITIES INCLUDED: Take our quiz, learn about the plucky author and find out about the real secret garden. This beautiful edition includes fantastic extra educational resources.
Buy On:
Easons €15.68
Book Depository €6.52
Waterstones £6.99
Wordery $6.22
Q. Do you prefer reading on paper, Kindle or listening to an audiobook?
Book, always. I read in the bath mostly so nothing with electrics would be safe.
Q. Do you have a favourite bookshop (and why that shop)?
John Sandoe, Blacklands Terrace, London. A fantastic selection, with fiction and non-fiction equally balanced in a beautiful shop packed to the gills with books and knowledge of books. And their podcast is also excellent (disclosure: I've done one)
Many thanks to Emily for recommending a great group of books! Please don't forget to check out Emily's book The Four Horsemen: And The Hope Of A New Age.
Daryl
Image Copyrights: Quercus Publishing (The Four Horsemen), Little, Brown Book Group (The Mould In Dr Florey's Coat), Hodder & Stoughton (The Future of Dinosaurs), Vintage Publishing (The Secret Garden).
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