Author: Biz India

Editors: Robert L. Jarman and K.E. Evans Publisher:  Cambridge University Press – 3,308 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram Volume 1: 1919-39 (898 pages) Volume 2: 1939-44 (750 pages) Volume 3: 1944-45 (917 pages) Volume 4: 1945-46 (743 pages) This four-volume book published in 2017 is on the formation of French Indochina in 1887, its existence as such for some 60 years until 1946, and later, the pursuit of independence, nationhood, and unification by the people of three formerly separate regions that constituted Vietnam (Annam, Cochin china, and Tonkin), and by the Cambodian and Laotian people. This book has...

Editors: Joshua Nall, Liba Taub, and Frances Willmoth Publisher:  Cambridge University Press – 334 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram In 1944, Robert Stewart Whipple (1875-1953) presented his collection of more than 1,000 scientific instruments and other objects, as well as his collection of a similar number of rare books to the University of Cambridge. In November of that year, an exhibition was held to mark the official presentation of Whipple’s collections and to launch the museum. Over the years, many historic instruments relating to science in the possession of this university have been transferred to the museum. Other...

Author: Guy R. Lefrancois Publisher:  Cambridge University Press – 547 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram This being the seventh (2020) edition of this book, with the first edition published in 1972, I was curious to learn why it has been so popular for nearly 50 years. So I checked its ranking on Amazon, but there was no ranking to be found. If you want to know the reason for the popularity, persistence, and longevity of this book, having gone through six revisions, you will find the answer in the Preface of the printed book. Preface: “Read this first…not...

This book is No. 23 in the Cambridge Planetary Science Series that contains 23 books. Author: Vladimir A. Krasnopolsky Publisher:  Cambridge University Press- 542 pages Book Review by: Sonu Chandiram Did you know that the origin and evolution, and the thermal balance, climate, and dynamics of a planet can be determined by looking at the chemical composition of its atmosphere? This is what I understood (I could be wrong) by reading the quoted statement below by the author of this book, a retired research professor named Vladimir A. Krasnopolsky:   “The chemical composition of any planetary atmosphere is of...