I did tangram as a kid. I don’t know how old I was. I do know I played with my father’s set. He’s a mathematician. At the time of course I did not realize just how educational the game was. I was learning about angles, symmetry and... More about these gift suggestions...
Christmas Gifts and Presents for Smart People
The Body Keeps the Score – trauma explained
This is perhaps not the most logical book to review on a gifts blog. However, I found it tremendously helpful in understanding my own childhood trauma and how that has impacted my life. Trauma usually comes in the shape of abuse, neglect or violence.... More about these gift suggestions...
Existential Psychotherapy, Irvin D. Yalom
What’s the meaning of life? It’s one of the existential questions life sometimes throws our way. Psychotherapy doesn’t just help in dealing with the difficulties of life, but it can also help with the question of ‘why?’... More about these gift suggestions...
LEGOS For Adults: Lego sets for Grown Ups for Christmas
Suitable LEGO Sets For Adults To Collect No matter what your age, LEGO Toys are fun to own, build and collect. There are even LEGOs specifically made for adults these days. I`m an adult LEGO Collector and it’s fair to say that I now have a lot... More about these gift suggestions...
Empires of the Silk Road, Christopher I. Beckwith
As a student of Indian history, philosophy and religion, the wider context of Asian culture fascinates me. How do all those cultures relate to each other? What does the famous Silk Road have to do with anything? Aryans came from central Asia to become... More about these gift suggestions...
Martin Meredith: The State of Africa
A history of 50 years of Independence in Africa A thorough historical, economical and political look at all the nations of Africa over the past 50 odd years. From dictators to AIDS/HIV, from disappointed hopes to fears of the future… realistic,... More about these gift suggestions...
Cool 3D Gifts, Gadgets, Games, Puzzles and Gizmos
Best 3D gamez, puzzles, gadgets and gizmos for Birthday and Christmas Gifts As a teen I just loved maths, especially spatial geometry. As an adult I’m still good at thinking in 3D, and I’m sure my teen ponderings and crafts (see below)... More about these gift suggestions...
An Atomic Love Story: the Extraordinary Women in Robert Oppenheimer’s Life
I’ve been looking around for biographies of strong women and An Atomic Love Story caught my eye. However, it is really – and this is significant – a biography of Robert Oppenheimer, the famous (and infamous) physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb and was, in the McCarthy era, accused of communist sympathies.
Shirley Streshinsky and Patricia Klaus take on this biographers challenge in style and with insight into the challenges that women have faced over the 20th century.
We meet Jean Tatlock, Kitty Oppenheimer – his wife, and Ruth Sherman Tolman.
All three were smart. All three loved Robert and only Ruth was happy in herself. Ruth was also the only one with a significant career in her own right. And yes, this review contains spoilers. Continue reading An Atomic Love Story: the Extraordinary Women in Robert Oppenheimer’s Life
Amy My Daughter: an Amy Winehouse Biography by her father
Amy Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was one of the more notorious female singer songwriters of her generation. Her looks – 60’s inspired as her dad reminds us – her lyrics and her bouts of drunken and drug induced... More about these gift suggestions...
Dear Abigail – Founding mothers of a new Nation
I love reading biographies. I’ve been looking, recently, for biographies of strong women. After all, we do make half the world’s population and our story needs to be known. Dear Abigail: The Intimate Lives and Revolutionary Ideas of Abigail... More about these gift suggestions...
Best Advanced Lego Sets For Adults
So many adults of today grew up building with Lego bricks and now they have children or even grandchildren who love to play with the plastic bricks, too. The sets of today are much more detailed than the ones that you grew up with, I am sure. Lego... More about these gift suggestions...
Best human anatomy coloring books
Alright, this is definitely not a gift for anybody. For teens who like biology or want to go into a medical profession it’s a very good gift. It will also help college level students trying to cram all those details into their heads.... More about these gift suggestions...
The Annotated Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales
We had a well supplied library of books growing up – both at home and at my grandparent’s: my grandmother collected children’s books. However, I did not start reading the collections of fairy tales we had till I was in my teens. I... More about these gift suggestions...