In today’s Nature (456, 445; 27 November 2008), Peggy Kolm reviews Academeology: Random Musings, Strong Opinions and Somewhat Bizarre Anecdotes from an Academic Life by Female Science Professor (Lulu 2008. 283 pp). From the review:
‘Pseudonymous blogger Female Science Professor (FSP) first introduced herself in May 2006: “I do not look my age, I do not look like a professor, I do not look like a scientist. My colleagues are, with a few exceptions, very kind and polite to me, and some (many? most?) even like me … but they do not take me seriously.”
That post set the tone for what has become a collection of more than 500 short essays describing her experiences as a scientist, a professor and one of the few women working in her field of science. She has revealed little about her life beyond the fact that she is a 40-something professor in a physical-science department at a large US university, is married to a fellow science professor and is mother to a “tween”-aged daughter. FSP’s blog has steadily gained popularity, with her clear writing style, candid revelations and often humorous musings. The blog’s comment section allows her readers to share their own academic experiences.’
According to the reviewer, a strength of the book (the range of essays) is also a weakness (each essay is for a different audience). And it “misses the added value of the comments associated with FSP’s original blog entries”. But the review is positive in overall tone,with the reviewer concluding “I would have loved to have had a copy during my own student days”.