House Guests, House Pests. A Natural History of Animals in the Home
By Richard Jones. Bloomsbury. $32.99.
Science for Life. A Manual for Better Living
By Brian Clegg. Icon. $35.
The Story of Australian English
By Kel Richards. Newsouth. $29.95.
"Human homes have now become an accredited biological habitat in their own right," the author writes in this forgiving, almost affectionate treatment of the many creatures with whom we share our living spaces. Here are woodlice, fleas, beetles, houseflies (we are told that some urban areas are now almost housefly-free) and cockroaches. Add the woodworms and termites that attack our buildings, the various beetles and borers that damage art installations, the weevils that infest our grains, the moths that attack our clothes, the mosquitoes and bed bugs that like our blood and you wonder how we survived as a species at all. The author concludes these creatures are safe because there are relatively few predators and the largely unobservant humans are little danger to them. A reference rather than a reader, the book includes a 70-page identification guide.
*****
Are spreads better for our health than butter? Are GM foods a risk to humans? Will boosting your child's omega-3 intake help him with his maths? These are some of the hundreds of questions answered here with gentle caution rather than dogmatic firmness. You will meet phrases such as "fewer benefits" or "less likely to be helpful" or "not a huge amount of benefit" rather than rigid or authoritative pronouncements. But this is what is to be expected from science which in many of the areas covered – from alcohol and acupuncture to Wi-Fi and weight reduction pills – is far from clear in its advice. Even with homeopathy, the author is not prepared to say more than "scientifically it is highly dubious". One advice he is definite on is whether to wash a chicken before putting it in the oven: "Don't." Light, informative and thorough.
*****
This book seeks to persuade Australians that the language spoken in this country should properly be called a dialect of English. Ours is a language that has words and forms of speech different from standard English, as found on BBC news broadcasts for example or in newspaper editorials. Kel Richards, whose Wordwatch segment on ABC NewsRadio ran until 2010, provides a historical summary of the origin and meanings of words and phrases that are unique to this country. The book is laid out in historical order, from convict words and Aboriginal influences through the effect of writers such as Banjo Paterson, C.J. Dennis and Nino Culotta, noting along the way the Digger words created around WWI Furphy water-carts. The chapter on abbreviations ends with nine pages of examples and he has a hilarious chapter on Emma Chisit and the baked necks she had for breakfast. Light and readable, it is a reminder that we do indeed speak a dialect of English.
Frank O'Shea is a Canberra reviewer.
