From early on, humanity’s key inventions involved rotation: grindstones, potter’s wheels, treadmills, pumps. The wheel, though, has been overrated.
More than a few authors have found success with books that look at a broad swath of history, ideas or science through the lens of a single topic. The trend might have begun with James Gleick’s “Chaos” (1987), which explored the surprising role of randomness in nature. Less abstractly, Mark Kurlansky took a tight-focus approach in “Cod” (1997) and Mary Roach in “Stiff” (2003), a book about, of all things, cadavers.
Roland Ennos elevates this approach to dizzying heights in “The Science of Spin.” The notion that lots of things spin—everything from toy tops to hurricanes—might seem pedestrian. But Mr. Ennos, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Hull, wants us to understand that spin is fundamental. It plays a part in the functioning of our bodies and the design of our infrastructure. It can also, of course, be found in the orderly motion of our planet and, indeed, of the universe. Mr. Ennos hopes that “The Science of Spin” will enable readers to “finally be able to understand what really makes the world go round.”
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James B. Meigs is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a City Journal contributing editor, cohost of the How Do We Fix It? podcast, and the former editor of Popular Mechanics.
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