Corrupted Science by John Grant--resurrected

As a writer and a reviewer, I sometimes come across a book that hasn’t gotten enough attention but seems to deserve that attention not just for its quality, but for its relevance. Corrupted Science by John Grant is one of these books.It provides unique, entertaining, sometimes horrifying testimony to fraud and deception in science--from Medieval times to today. In light of the attack on rationality not just from private sources (see the current controversy over Ben Stein’s propaganda film Expelled) but also our own government, a book that not only catalogues what is happening today but also puts it in a wider context is not only relevant but necessary. Even, perhaps vital, in that battles over evolution have to do with whether or not we perceive ourselves as rational beings whereas battles over global warming may decide our survival as a civilization. (Perhaps even more eye-opening is a chapter in the book on the money spent on crackpot super-weapons.)Corrupted Science was buried in the holiday rush of books in November of last year here in North America, but the publisher is committed to resurrecting it with a major push in the next month or two. For example, you can read the introductions to both Corrupted Science and Grant's previous book, Discarded Science, here. There is also a publisher page for the book.This isn’t just a wonderfully written and relevant book—it’s also a beautiful little hardcover, lovingly put together, and something anyone would be thrilled to have on their bookshelf. Because the book is past its usual sell-by date, it can be ordered through bookstores, but most readers may want to order through an online source such as Amazon .“It was very depressing to realize that, when looking around for regimes that have systematically corrupted science within the past century or so, three stood out quite distinctly, head and shoulders above the rest of the herd: Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia, and Bush’s America. At times when working on the three relevant chapters, I had to remind myself which chapter was the one in front of me: the parallels between the three regimes, in terms of their vigorous attempts to trample honest science underfoot, are as horrifically close as that.” – John Grant