Comments on: Guest Post: Michael Peskin on John Updike

By: regan842967

regan842967 — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:43:30 +0000

Um, that description of Rabbit, Run is incorrect. The baby dies at the *end* of the book, not in the first few pages, and it is a pretty big spoiler as well.

By: gss_000

gss_000 — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:13:17 +0000

It’s always sad when someone this prolific passes. Maybe not as notable for the space community, but just as cool, one of Updike’s last pieces was on Mars in an issue of National Geographic.

By: Updike’s The dance of the solids « Entertaining Research

Updike’s The dance of the solids « Entertaining Research — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:02:40 +0000

[...] The dance of the solids By Guru Peskin, at cosmic variance, reminds of Updike’s Neutrino poem while paying his tributes to the…: Every particle physicist knows Updike’s poem “Cosmic Gall,” the number one popularization of [...]

By: changcho

changcho — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:57:12 +0000

Very nice, brief overview of some of Updike’s works, thank you.

By: Talk Like A Physicist » Blog Archive » John Updike’s poem on Neutrinos - Cosmic Gall

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:56:35 +0000

[...] Cosmic Variance Bookmark, Share and [...]

By: Sili

Sili — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:52:23 +0000

I went to Amazon to look up the QFT book (in the naïve hope that I might one day understand some physics – not likely since I’ve have great trouble reading my differential geometry book despite passing the exam in it … years ago) – and I ended up adding ten books to my wishlist.

Perhaps it’s fitting if I add one by Updike too, now that I’ve read the post.

By: JoAnne

JoAnne — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:42:07 +0000

Nice post, Michael, thanks! I had forgotten about his piece on Ted Williams’ last at bat. That was indeed a classic.

By: Marshall Eubanks

Marshall Eubanks — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:24:58 +0000

I have never heard of Updike's poem about neutrinos - but I do remember the song by Klaatu, Little Neutrino. There was a time when I would put that when contemplating the solar neutrino discrepancy.

By: jfromm

jfromm — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:02:53 +0000

The autobiography of great writers is often as interesting as their works, for example “The Other Side of Me” by Sidney Sheldon. In his fascinating book “Self-Consciousness”, Updike describes his struggles with stuttering and psoriasis and talks about his profound commitment to writing. By the way, to produce a short story in the New Yorker every week is similar to write a cantata every week – in this way Updike can be compared with J.S. Bach.

By: Mark

Mark — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:30:05 +0000

Nicely put Michael – Updike was a true modern master,. He was an author that I always felt was able to achieve compellingly readable prose which stayed with you for a long time afterwards. Not an easy feat.