BBC Focus - 04.2020_

BOOKSMART

HINTON
MARKBLACKLOCK
£16.99, GRANTA, OUT 2 APRIL 2020

CharlesHowardHintonwasa
Victorianscientist,inventorand
novelist,andanexplorerof
unmappedrealmsofthemind.
Asa youngmaninthe
1880s,Hintonwasseizedbyan
ideathathadescapedfrom
speculativegeometryand been
takenupbyexcitable
spiritualists:whatif spacewere
four-dimensional,andnot
limitedtolength,breadthand
height?Whatif therewere
anotherextension,inaccessible
tooursensesbutopentoour
mindsif onlywecouldtrain
them?JustasHinton’sworkwas
gainingreaders,scandalstruck:
hewasdiscoveredtohave
committedbigamy.Hewas
convictedandjailed.Unableto
findworkonhisrelease,he
fledEnglandforJapanand
eventuallyAmerica.
I discoveredHinton’swork 10
yearsago,andlostmyselfin
unearthinghisstory.Mynovel,
Hinton, recreateshislifeand
invitesitsreaderstobecome
historicaldetectivessolving
long-forgottenmysteriesand
discovering archival crimes.

BECOMINGWILD

CARLSAFINA

£18.99, ONEWORLD, OUT 9 APR 2020

Throughouttheanimalkingdom,

thegenetictapestryis overlain

withmorelearnedculture than

humanshaverealised.

BecomingWildshowsthat

‘natural’doesn’talwayscome

naturally.Manyanimalslearn

almosteverythingfromtheir

elders.Theygetanswersto

questionsofhowtolive;findout

dangers;gainskills,group-

identityandcommunication

dialects;andlearntraditions that

definetheirexistence.

Culturestoresinformationin

poolsofknowledgethatpass

throughgenerations.Culture

adaptsmoreflexiblyandrapidly

thangenepools.Anindividual

receivesgenesonlyfromparents,

butcanobtainculturefrom

everyoneintheirgroup.And

becausecultureimproves

survival,culturecanlead where

genesmustfollow.

Thestoriesofspermwhales,

macawsandchimpanzeesin

BecomingWildrepresentthree

majorthemesofculture:identity,

preferenceforbeauty,andhow

sociallivingcreatestensions that

culture must soothe.

RIVERSOFPOWER

LAURENCEC SMITH

£20, ALLEN LANE, OUT 21 APRIL 2020

Hidinginplainsight,riversarea

powerfulforcecoursingthrough

theneighbourhoodsof

two-thirdsoftheworld’s

population.Whilethepractical

benefitsofthesewaterwaysare

obvious,thedepth of their hold

overusis not.

Riversdefineandtranscend

borders,forcingcooperation

betweennations.War,politics

andurbandemographicsare

joltedbytheirfloods.The

territorialclaimsofnations,their

culturalandeconomictiestoone

another,andthemigrationsof

peoplecanbetracedbackto

rivers,rivervalleys,andthe

topographicdividestheycarve

upontheworld.Aswater

demands,climatechange,and

disruptivenewtechnologies

transformourrelationshipwith

rivers,newopportunitiesare

arisingtoprotectthewaters and

citiesthatsustainus.

RiversOfPowerrevealsthe

timelessyetunder-appreciated

relationshipbetweenriversand

humancivilisation,fromthe

Pharaohstothemodern artificial

intelligence era.

18 TINYDEATHS

BRUCEGOLDFARB

£16.99, ENDEAVOUR, OUT 2 APRIL 2020

Forensicscienceis oneofthe

leadinggenresofpopculture,in

books,film,TVandpodcasting.

Everybodyseemstolovea

murdermystery.We’vecometo

expecta CSI-stylecrimescene

investigation,withprofessionals

usingthelatestscientific

technology.Butinmanypartsof

theworld,thatdoesnothappen.

18 TinyDeathstellsthestoryof

FrancesGlessnerLee,whowas

bornin1878.Shewasan

independentlywealthymatron

withnoacademiccredentials,yet

shewasnearlysingle-handedly

responsibleforforensicmedicine

takingrootinAmerica.Known

mainlyasthecreatorofthe

exquisitelydetailedNutshell

StudiesOfUnexplainedDeath, Lee

wasa reformer,educatorand

activist.Herlife’smissionwasto

moveawayfromthearchaic

coronersystemofdeath

investigationtoa modern,

scientificmedicalexaminer

system.Shewascommissioned

asa captainintheNew

HampshireStatePolice,and

earnedaccoladesasthe ‘mother

of forensic science’.

byM A R K

BLACKLOCK

(@DrBlacklock)

Markis a novelistandcultural
historian,teachingliteratureat
Birkbeck, University of London.

byL A U R E N C E

SMITH

Laurencehasworkedon

environmentalissueswithNASA,the

UN and the World Economic Forum.

byC A R L

SAFINA

(@ca rl sa f i n a)

Carlis a bestsellingauthor,witha PhD

inecology.Heis endowedprofessorfor

nature and humanity at Stony Brook.

byB R U C E

G OL DFA R B

(@b ru ce g o l d fa rb)

Bruceis a trainedforensicinvestigator

andis executiveassistanttothechief

medical examiner in Maryland.