Josh Trapani
Josh Trapani’s day jobs have included stints at Washington, DC, think tanks and associations, at USDA, and as a science fellow for a U.S. senator. He helped start the Washington Independent Review of Books and served as its first managing editor. Trained as a paleontologist, Josh’s research applied quantitative methods to understanding morphological evolution, and he performed fieldwork in the U.S., Mexico, and Ethiopia. Josh has published a dozen peer-reviewed papers, as well as pieces in science policy venues and the New York Daily News op-ed page. His fiction and humor have appeared in the Writing Disorder, Parent Co, the Big Jewel, the Del Sol Review, Neutrons Protons, Brick Moon Fiction, the Higgs Weldon, and elsewhere.
85 entries by Josh Trapani
The Mind and the Moon: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches
By Daniel Bergner
![The Mind and the Moon: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/themind.jpg)
It’s time to rethink our approach to mental illness.
How to Mars
By David Ebenbach
![How to Mars](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/How-to-Mars-1-800x1237.jpg)
Despite its intriguing premise, this futuristic novel leaves too many issues unaddressed.
Humble Pi
By Matt Parker
![Humble Pi](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/humblepi.jpg)
A witty and wide-ranging foray into arithmetical blunders.
Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World
By Matt Parker
![Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/humblepi.jpg)
A witty and wide-ranging foray into arithmetical blunders.
World Without Mind
By Franklin Foer
![World Without Mind](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/worldwithoutmind.jpg)
How companies undermine societal values and what we can do about it.
The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World
By Charles C. Mann
![The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/wizardprophet.jpg)
Examining the worldviews of two influential but largely forgotten thinkers.
Reality Is Not What It Seems
By Carlo Rovelli
![Reality Is Not What It Seems](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/reality.jpg)
Making science understandable to the rest of us.
![Should the Tent Be Burning Like That? A Professional Amateur’s Guide to the Outdoors](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/shouldthetent.jpg)
You'll enjoy this winning collection whether the wild calls to you or not.
World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech
By Franklin Foer
![World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/worldwithoutmind.jpg)
How companies undermine societal values and what we can do about it.
![The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/physics.jpg)
Though well-intentioned, this erudite guide is a bit highfalutin for the rest of us.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
By Neil deGrasse Tyson
![Astrophysics for People in a Hurry](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/astrophysics.jpg)
A slim but satisfying read about the nature of the universe from one of America’s leading scientists.
Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity
By Carlo Rovelli
![Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/reality.jpg)
Making science understandable to the rest of us.
Food Whore: A Novel of Dining and Deceit
By Jessica Tom
![Food Whore: A Novel of Dining and Deceit](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/foodwhore.jpg)
A fun page-turner of a story set amid New York City's raucous restaurant scene.
Brief Candle in the Dark
By Richard Dawkins
![Brief Candle in the Dark](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/briefcandle.jpg)
The provocative biologist's latest work may please his current fans but is unlikely to win him any new ones.
Doctor Sleep: A Novel
By Stephen King
![Doctor Sleep: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/doctorsleep.jpg)
Shine on? The much-heralded sequel to The Shining fails to live up to the original, but will still keep you turning the pages.
![The VIDA Count: A Short Critique (And How The Independent Stacks Up)](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/count-von-count-sesame-street.jpg)
Each year VIDA presents The Count, wherein they analyze, by gender, books reviewed and reviewers for major literary publications.
![Hatchet Job Of The Year](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/shrimppool.jpg)
Ron Charles, Washington Post book critic as well as everyone’s favorite Totally Hip Video Book Reviewer, reports that he was disappointed to learn he had not won The Hatchet Job of the Year Award, given by The Omnivore for “the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past twelve months.”