The Scientist and the Sociopath

By Joseph D'Agnese

DECEPTION:
A modern-day computer scientist struggles to unlock the secrets of a mysterious book apparently written in a secret code, matching wits with a sociopathic con man who died 400 years ago.

RECOGNITION:
A humble cosmologist conceives one of the biggest theories of the universe—and watches helplessly as the Nobel Prize goes to someone else.

DEDUCTION:
A maverick doctor investigates bizarre ailments using a method that seems shockingly radical in modern medicine: befriending patients and asking them how they feel.

THE SCIENTIST AND THE SOCIOPATH presents remarkable nonfiction stories, some of real-life scientists tackling theories and discoveries that will change our world, others of laymen grappling with some aspect of science in their lives.

Culled from the author’s reporting for magazines such as Discover, Wired and Seed, these tales are presented together for the very first time. This ebook includes 17 stories and a selection of the author’s science book reviews, for a total of about 60,000 words in all.

Praise
“D’Agnese writes the most unusual and interesting books.” —Bookviews

"This is my kind of book: completely fascinating true stories, where science and the people who 'practice' it intersect. I just like Joe D'Agnese's approachable style of writing. And he has a knack for making science — and any other subject he tackles, for that matter — completely compelling." — Thick & Thin Things Blog

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph D'Agnese
• Release date: May 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452453637

Joseph D'Agnese

Joseph D’Agnese is a journalist and author who has written for children and adults alike. He’s been published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Discover, and other national publications. In a career spanning more than twenty years, his work has been honored with awards in three vastly different areas—science journalism, children’s literature, and mystery fiction. His science articles have twice appeared in the anthology Best American Science Writing. His children’s book, Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci, was an honoree for the Mathical Book Prize—the first-ever prize for math-themed children’s books. One of his crime stories won the 2015 Derringer Award for short mystery fiction. Another of his stories was selected by mega-bestselling author James Patterson for inclusion in the prestigious annual anthology, Best American Mystery Stories 2015. D’Agnese’s crime fiction has appeared in Shotgun Honey, Plots with Guns, Beat to a Pulp, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. D’Agnese lives in North Carolina with his wife, the New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan (The Girls of Atomic City).