Week ending March 4, 2016 Green, Joey. Last-Minute Travel Secrets: 121 Ingenious Tips To Endure Cramped Planes, Car Trouble, Awful Hotels, and Other Trips from Hell. Chicago Review. May 2016. 240p. photos. bibliog. ISBN 9781613735046. pap. $16.99. TRAV Author Green claims credit for 50-plus books (including Happy Accidents and Polish Your Furniture with Panty Hose). He also states he “has conducted all the travel secrets in this book,” which leads one to question two of his “Ingenious Tips”: since when is it other than idiotic to “Electrocute an Intruder with a Table Lamp” (in a hotel room) or “Incapacitate a Hijacker with a Pot of Coffee” (on an aircraft)? Green also has a peculiar propensity to travel with an abundance of tennis balls. He turns them into noise-canceling headphones (don’t forget a knife or scissors and a pair of pantyhose), bathtub stoppers, floor cleaners, trailer hitch covers, and gas pump triggers. Maxipads come in handy, too. You can turn them into slippers, diapers, and sleep masks. Green applies his travel tips to packing, airplanes and airports, hotels, cruise ships, trains, buses, cars, RVs, and campers (don’t forget the condoms for a quick, portable shower). Each tip is accompanied by a photo, a list of required sundries, and instructions and information as to how or why it works. Many tips are general knowledge, common sense, and redundant for savvy travelers. A few require more time, effort, and materials than the end result is worth. Green does include an extensive bibliography in addition to his own face in many of the photos. Verdict The author may have missed his calling. As a stand-up comedian with a suitcase full of tennis balls, maxipads, and pantyhose he’d be a hit for sure.—Janet N. Ross, formerly with Washoe Cty. Lib. Syst., Sparks, NV Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2016. Lonely Planet. 2015. 208p. illus. maps. index. ISBN 9781743607459. pap. $14.99; ebk. ISBN 9781743609774. TRAV This compilation features the best cities, countries, and regions found by the Lonely Planet team recommended for readers to visit in 2016. The list also includes some additional perks in a collection of such subcategories as best areas for family vacations, best places to find silence, and best places for mustache lovers. The guide is meticulously organized and beautifully illustrated with photos that will awaken wanderlust in even the most settled armchair traveler. With quick snapshot synopses of each country/city/region, this book is not designed to be used to plan one’s itinerary but rather to help readers find an area with that particular something, be it luxe spots for less, adventurous travel, or just experiencing another culture. Verdict This volume would be a good reference for a public library with a versatile travel section. It provides a glimpse at areas that readers could then research in other travel guides. The information is likely to become dated after a year—if not before—but that is true of any travel book, and this offers a handy quick reference and overview.—Stacy Shaw, Orange, CA Wiggins, Arthur W. & Charles M. Wynn (text) & Sidney Harris (illus.). The Human Side of Science: Edison and Tesla, Watson and Crick, and Other Personal Stories Behind Science’s Big Ideas. Prometheus. Apr. 2016. 360p. illus. notes. index. ISBN 9781633881563. $25; ebk. ISBN 9781633881570. $11.99. SCI We may think of science as logical, pure, and unsullied by the messiness of human experience, but Wiggins (formerly Oakland Community Coll.) and Wynn (chemistry, Eastern Connecticut State Univ.) repudiate this notion, exploring how rivalries, friendly collaborations, and early deaths affected the course of scientific discovery. Each chapter focuses on one concept and the actors and events relevant to that topic (e.g., the transition to a heliocentric model of the solar system, the development of the periodic table, the discovery of nuclear fission). The subjects could be the basis for entire books of their own, so the narrative can sometimes feel superficial. However, the book’s back matter contains a “To Dig Deeper” section with further resources. There is a disappointingly Western, white male focus: with only a handful of exceptions, women, men of color, and people from outside the United States or Europe are relegated to “honorable mention minichapters” at the end; women of color are not mentioned at all. Wikipedia is also listed extensively in the citations, calling into question the accuracy of the material. Verdict What could be an enjoyable read for armchair scientists interested in the personalities behind the principles has significant shortcomings.—Gretchen Kolderup, New York P.L.