To infinity and beyond Earth's pale blue dot: Books in brief

"This spectacular book of photographs of the Universe is dedicated to the late astronomer and broadcaster Patrick Moore, who introduced the authors to one another. Astrophysicist Derek Ward-Thompson, rock guitarist Brian May - who also holds a PhD in astrophysics - and astrophotographer J.-P. Metsävainio showcase some of the "billions of vast glowing islands in the immensity of what seems like infinite space and time". Several of the photos appear in adjacent pairs, visible in 3D with a stereo-focusing viewer."

"Fluvial geomorphologist Ellen Wohl studies how rivers shape the ecology of the lands they flow through. Having grown up near rivers around the US Great Lakes, "I've always had trouble turning back rather than following just one more bend of the river to see what's ahead", she writes in her appealing book. As for rivers' future, she worries about several aspects, such as climate change and the spread of floating plastics, and supports the 2022 declaration of legal personhood for four important rivers,"

"Academic fraud is seldom as openly discussed as it is in this absorbing book by behavioural researcher Max Bazerman. It relates to a 2012 social-science study about honesty by Bazerman and four co-authors, in which people were found to be more truthful when filling out a form if they signed it beforehand, rather than afterwards. But, in 2021 and 2023, academic sleuths showed that two of the experiments were, ironically, fraudulent. Bazerman, although not personally implicated, regrets his reluctance to question his co-authors' data."

Derek Ward-Thompson, Brian May and J.-P. Metsävainio present spectacular stereoscopic photographs of the Universe dedicated to the late astronomer and broadcaster Patrick Moore, with several images arranged in adjacent pairs for 3D viewing. Fluvial geomorphologist Ellen Wohl describes how rivers shape land ecologies, recounts childhood experiences near the US Great Lakes, cautions about climate change and floating plastics, and supports the 2022 legal-personhood declaration for four rivers. Behavioural researcher Max Bazerman recounts a 2012 honesty study linked to later revelations that two experiments were fraudulent and expresses regret for not scrutinizing co-authors' data. A University of Chicago Press listing for Jon Willis appears without further detail.

Read at Nature