If you think that nuclear fusion is an obscure scientific topic, think twice. You already hear about it more and more in the media, and - at least according to the author of this book and its main characters - it may well be the most important source of energy in the future, hopefully in the very near future.

I hated physics at school and still rarely read about it but I am glad that I have made an exception. First of all, nuclear physics is unquestionably fascinating. Second, the author is extremely gifted - he can explain the most complicated scientific problems in a comprehensive and interesting way. Combining such first grade popular science with engaging on-the-ground reporting, he wrote a book that will please any curious mind. You will not only learn - and understand! - how nuclear fusion works, but also how stars are born, how we can avoid the energy crisis, what are the dangers of nuclear power and where is the hottest place in the solar system (spoiler: a village in Oxfordshire).

Recommended not only to readers interested in science but also climate crisis and current affairs - it is just good to be in the know.

Thanks to the publisher, Scribner, and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book

Star Builders

[Blurb goes here]

I some times have a hankering for tech books, not being an engineer myself, this often ends in disappointment. My lack of understanding making such books hard to follow. When I saw the description for this title I couldn't help but wanting to read it, half expecting the same results obtained in my earlier attempts. I'm happy to say that Star Builders was not the case. I could understand most of it and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is one of those technologies that where theorized some seventy years ago.

To give you a glimpse into fusion, you first have to understand that the technology we come to rely for electricity, is fission. Yes, the same thing that makes atomic bombs go 'boom'. In layman's terms, you take an atom, you dived it creating a ton of energy, and there you go, fission. With fission comes nuclear waste. Fusion is the fusion of two atoms to produce vast amounts of energy, without the radioactive waste. So yeah. This is a clean technology that could change our world.

Now onto the book. Repeating the words "Star Builders" constantly, gets old, impressibly fast. Trying to explain things as if detachedly talking to a group of nine years old using advanced terminology is a moot point, us kids will ignore it. I did enjoyed the book, but what it lacks is emotion. Fusion in a world been ravaged by global warming, could really turn the tide around. So where's the emotion? Where is the motivation?

Thank you for the advanced copy!

A fantastic, accessible primer on fusion energy written (one can assume) to persuade a layperson reader that this is the singular fuel source that can avert catastrophic climate change, that the current state of affairs is exciting and promising, and that more funding is needed to finally reach its full potential. I found it both effective and inspiring, and recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about the mechanics and the possibilities of nuclear fusion.

I want to introduce this with a caveat: this is and would be a really interesting book for anyone wholly unfamiliar with the idea of nuclear fusion, or perhaps for someone with a little bit more patience than me.

That noted:

Stop. Saying. Star. Builders. Stop. Stop saying it. Just stop. Stop it.

I get it. It's the title of the book. Maybe, Arthur Turrell, you're trying to make it some kind of brand, or make the idea of people who work in fusion facilities and plasma science more accessible or awe-inspiring or something.

But it is <i>entirely</i> unnecessary to call every single person in the book a "star builder," multiple times per page, where literally any other word would do. How about, "scientists?" "Physicists?" Or even just, "people?"

Without posting multiple excerpts of the text here, I feel as though I can't get this point across without sounding like a pedant or a spoilsport, but there's a bigger point to make here. Turrell presents very interesting, and at times, very high-level nuclear physics information with an incredibly juvenile tone. I don't mean he presents it in an accessible way, or a way that children would understand. I mean to say the tone of this book is like those children's events in the middle school auditorium where arguably solid messages, like "smoking is bad" or "don't do drugs" are presented at a level that feels intended for a much younger audience, thus rendering all information imparted moot and all the kids go out afterward and steal Marlboros from their moms' purses. The constant repetition of the name of the book as some kind of job title or profession is the cherry on the cake of this incredibly tone-challenged presentation; in a book clearly aimed at adults, I don't need to hear a grown-ass man who worked in the field of nuclear energy call other grown-ass people "star builders" like it's some kind of royal decree. Use their names. Use their titles. Use their jobs. They worked hard to get where they are, and calling them "star builders" over and over again feels belittling when I know for sure it's meant to make them sound majestic and cool and smart - and they are majestic and cool and smart! That's the thing that really kills me!

Again: there is a lot of good, interesting information in this book. I fully believe that nuclear fusion energy will be viable in this century, and I can't wait to hear all about it. I'd love an even deeper dive still. But the presentation and the tone here makes <i>The Star Builders</i> a cringe-worthy slog.