The Thermodynamics of Pizza

Why do pizzas stay hot? Why are olives edible? How does ice carry electricity? Why is blood redder in the tropics? How much is a fingertip worth? Why do camps require health forms? What do drooping eyelids, electric eels, and curare have in common? What was the secret of the Sphinx?  In fifty-plus essays, Harold J. Morowitz, a distinguished biophysicist with a very active sense of curiosity, muses over these and other questions that arise in the course of his daily life, his scientific research, and his miscellaneous reading.  Morowitz's wit, warmth, and ability to make the most surprising connections will delight every reader.

Praise for Morowitz's earlier collections of essays:
"Morowitz is a pleasing cracker-barrel philosopher of biochemistry and biophysics. . . . [His] scientific musings both illuminate and safeguard what we are accustomed to call the mystery of life. You can't ask for more than that."ÐÐAnatole Broyard, The New York Times

"Morowitz can handle the profoundest bits of information with the lightest and best-humored of touches."ÐÐLewis Thomas

"Bite-sized essays in the biological sciences . . . a delight to read."ÐÐCarl Sagan                                          

"Morowitz is . . . one of those scientists with a passion for explaining his field to laymen.  Happily, he has the wit to elucidate the Big Questions underlying the most trivial-seeming of facts. . . . With admirable brevity (few of his . . . essays are more than four pages), Morowitz ranges wide."ÐÐNewsweek

Harold Joseph Morowitz (December 4, 1927 – March 22, 2016) was an American biophysicist who studied the application of thermodynamics to living systems.[1][2] Author of numerous books and articles, his work includes technical monographs as well as essays.[3][4] The origin of life was his primary research interest for more than fifty years.[5] He was the Robinson Professor of Biology and Natural Philosophy at George Mason University after a long career at Yale.