Body Surfing by Anita Shreve

Fun story of love and betrayal at the beach.

The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra

I was attracted to this book because its underlying thesis is that developments in quantum mechanics are pointing to a new perception of reality that should have us turning away from Cartesian dualism (mind/body) and Newtonian physics (the world is separate from ourselves and can be measured objectively.)

As Capra puts it, "The universe is no longer seen as a machine, made up of a multitude of separate objects, but appears as a harmonious indivisible whole; a network of dynamic relationships that include the human observer and his or her consciousness in an essential way."

He also quotes British physicist James Jeans who in the 1930's said, "Today there is a wide measure of agreement . . . that the stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality; the universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine."

Capra's clear and cogent presentation of human intellectual history draws on a wide variety of time periods and cultures. It's also well documented. However, Capra lost me when he started applying his thought to economics and sociology. The Turning Point; Science, Society, and the Rising Culture was first published in 1982 and smacks of 1960's and 1970's intellectual stylishness: the big bad military-industrial complex, small is beautiful, back to the farm, etc. Because I'd just read Friedman's The World Is Flat, I felt much of the economics in The Turning Point was outdated. In an odd way this made the book more interesting because you could assess Capra's views of the future against the way things have actually been turning out.

Very good book about the need to change our perception of reality.

The Company of Strangers by Robert Wilson

A young English mathematician named Andrea Aspinall is recruited by British intelligence for duties as a spy in Portugal during World War II. The cast of characters she works for and against are indeed a company of strangers. Many of them are double agents. They appear, disappear, and reappear in Andrea's life throughout the novel's time period of 1940 to 1989. Towards the end, with the Berlin wall coming down, it becomes difficult to keep track of who is spying for whom. The twists and turns and surprises keep happening and it all leaves the reader wondering if anyone really knows anything about their compatriots.

Good spy novel.

The Art of Seeing by Cammie McGovern

A story of two sisters, one of whom is going blind, Cammie McGovern's first novel focuses (pun intended) on the sisters' relationship. There is much overt and implied reference to visual perception (the younger sister is a photographer) as the two girls move into adulthood both supporting and competing with each other. Tightly written, The Art of Seeing has inspired me to go buy McGovern's second book, Eye Contact.

Good novel.