Book Review: Project Hail Mary

Occasionally, an author will self-publish a book that goes so viral it lures a traditional publisher. This is what happened for Andy Weir with his first book, The Martian. I read that book for book club a decade ago. Since I put Project Hail Mary on my 2026 movie bucket list, I wanted to read the book prior to seeing the movie. The movie must be outstanding. My youngest went to see it twice within less than two weeks. I will admit, the science kept me bogged down during the read. I would have been fine to see the movie without reading the book. But, if you have more scientific acumen than I do (most probable), you might enjoy reading prior to watching the movie.

Project Hail Mary is, as the title suggests, a story of a last-ditch effort to save Earth and humanity. Ryland Grace is an unlikely candidate to save the world. He is a junior high science teacher sent into space on a mission to tackle a pressing problem threatening the sun. He wakes with amnesia from an induced coma. Through flashbacks, the reader and the astronaut come to understand his identity and his mission. When Grace meets an alien, Rocky, battling the same problem, they form a friendship and tackle the problems together.

I still give kudos to Weir for his great skill in explaining science in simple terms. The relational bond between human and alien is touching. The stakes continually escalate. I imagine (for me, anyway) the movie will be easier to follow than the book. I'm looking forward to it, but will admit I'm waiting until my library has a copy of the DVD. A Great Awakening was a movie that demanded viewing on the big screen (I saw it twice and would have happily paid to see it a third time). I'm not feeling as strong a pull for this movie adaptation.

Book Review: Hidden Valley Road

What a tragic, yet hopeful, tale of an unusual family! Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family, by Robert Kolker, shares a somewhat frightening and always intriguing outline of the lives of the Galvin Family in Colorado. The father, Don, worked for the Air Force, while the mother, Mimi, raised their twelve children - ten sons and two daughters. Of the ten sons, six fought schizophrenia or bipolar. I could not look away, immediately caught up in the story and horrified by what madness and chaos the family experienced.

I appreciated the structure of the book. Each chapter begins with a list of their names and highlights the individuals covered in that chapter. The stunning cover photograph of all the boys with their parents on a long spiral staircase makes an impressive lure. Many parts were excruciating to read (abuse, fighting, murder, horror of mental illness). Yet, I was glad that researchers discovered this family and have been able to use their DNA, their experience, and their demise to increase our understanding of these dreadful diseases. I hope their losses will lead to new treatment and prevention for the world-at-large.

Book Review: A Theory of Everything (That Matters)

Almost as soon as I finished writing my review for Bill Bryson's materialistic presentation of the wonder that is the human body, I picked up this little book on Albert Einstein, another work that contemplates the conflicts that sometimes arise between science and religion. I was eager for a different (possibly fairer) presentation of Albert Einstein than the one Marie Benedict painted in her book, The Other Einstein, reviewed here. Written from a feminist perspective, Benedict's book left the reader loathing Einstein and lauding his superior wife. I just couldn't swallow her view of the situation as fact rather than a priori assumption.

Alister McGrath, professor of science and religion at Oxford University, provides an accessible and interesting outline of Einstein's genius and his contributions to scientific theory. A Theory of Everything (That Matters): A Brief Guide to Einstein, Relativity & His Surprising Thoughts on God is a quick read. Although I wouldn't say I have a tremendous grasp on scientific things, I read the book in one sitting and understood most of what I read. I appreciated that, while McGrath acknowledges Einstein was not a Christian, he believes we have something important to gain in reflecting on Einstein's thoughts and words. McGrath's premise is that Einstein was always seeking the "big picture" and wanting to integrate what he understood about the world around him with what remained a mystery.

I agreed with Einstein's parable of the lion: "Nature shows us only the tail ... but I do not doubt that the lion belongs to it even though he cannot at once reveal himself." As McGrath explains, "what we observe of the universe is a manifestation of a far greater unseen reality that lies beyond our capacities to grasp and hold." Einstein held a "firm belief in a superior mind that reveals itself in the world of experience." I appreciated McGrath's metaphor (attributed to Sir Thomas Browne) for the roles of science and Christianity - he likened it to two books, nature and the Bible, both pointing to God as the author - "creation discloses the Creator." So, despite Einstein's failure to believe in a "personal God," we can still enter into dialogue with Einstein's thoughts to enhance beliefs that are consistent with such a God. I liked this author's dissection of Einstein's life far better than Marie Benedict's.