It’s a light once-over that really doesn’t do the complex topic justice, but it may spur young readers into taking care with...
From fingerprints to voice, tongue, and even odor recognition, Birmingham explores the ways our identities are being linked to unique physical features or behaviors.
It’s a quick overview, with general looks at several types of established or experimental biometrics and briefer glances at a few more-speculative ones. For each of the former the author rates collection difficulty and (putative) level of security on a simple scale, then goes on to discuss in nontechnical language collection methods, current uses, and distinctive pros and cons. As food for thought, she does weigh the convenience of using biometrics rather than plastic or passwords as identification over such larger privacy and security issues as the proliferation of surveillance cameras in public places. This nuance is missing, however, with her closing, superficial observation that even if it’s “anyone’s guess” where the science of biometrics is headed, at least it shows that we’re all “unique through and through.” Turner’s small cartoon views of stylized high-tech gear and simplified (if diversely hued) human figures brighten the presentation without adding much of substance.
It’s a light once-over that really doesn’t do the complex topic justice, but it may spur young readers into taking care with their IDs and personal information. (index, source list) (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-77147-193-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
In this glossy photo essay, the author briefly recounts the study and exploration of the moon, beginning with Stonehenge and concluding with the 1998–99 unmanned probe, Lunar Prospector. Most of the dramatic photographs come from NASA and will introduce a new generation of space enthusiasts to the past missions of Project Mercury, Gemini, and most especially the moon missions, Apollo 1–17. There are plenty of photographs of various astronauts in space capsules, space suits, and walking on the moon. Sometimes photographs are superimposed one on another, making it difficult to read. For example, one photograph shows the command module Columbia as photographed from the lunar module and an insert shows the 15-layer space suit and gear Neil Armstrong would wear for moonwalking. That’s a lot to process on one page. Still, the awesome images of footprints on the moon, raising the American flag, and earthrise from the moon, cannot help but raise shivers. The author concludes with a timeline of exploration, Web sites, recommended books, and picture credits. For NASA memorabilia collectors, end papers show the Apollo space badges for missions 11–17. Useful for replacing aging space titles. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57091-408-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
Thousands of years ago, the Komodo dragon may have inspired dragon legends in China and beyond. In more recent times, researchers from all over the world have traveled to the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia to study the Komodo dragon. This lively if somewhat haphazardly organized account focuses on the efforts of contemporary researchers, presents some of their cooler findings (female dragons can reproduce through parthenogenesis; their saliva is laced with deadly bacteria) and profiles a few captive specimens. Mostly color photographs from a variety of sources adorn almost every page, and captions add to the information. Learning about the Komodo dragon is not for the faint of heart, and the photos show the wild beasts in all their gory glory. The extensive backmatter includes brief facts about Indonesia, more information on the Komodo dragon life cycle and its use of smell and conservation information. A portion of the sales will be donated to the Komodo Survival Program. (bibliography, further reading, glossary, websites, index, author’s note) (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59078-757-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
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