THE ONE BOOK THE SCEPTICAL CHEMIST WOULD TAKE WITH HIM IF HE WERE EXILED ON A DESERT ISLAND

If exiled on a desert island, what one book and one CD would you take with you?

Nihal Fernando’s ‘Sri Lanka-A Personal Odyssey’ (ISBN 9559236032) is a bittersweet photo-essay about this beautiful, but troubled, land. It reminds me of a wonderful past which hung on till not so long ago. Kevin Burke’s ‘If the cap fits’ is Irish fiddle playing at its raw and beautiful best. This music in all its forms has been a large part of my attraction for Northern Ireland. The format of the Irish music session, with its circle in a bar where punters and players are equal, appeals greatly. That feeling of elation/exhaustion at the end of a long non-stop session is also worth a lot.

AP de Silva is in the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Queen's University Belfast and works on molecular sensing, logic and computing.

http://blogs.nature.com/thescepticalchymist/2007/03/reactions_ap_de_silva.html