Quantum Physics with Capt. Kirk and Magneto

SFGate.com has a review up of Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics by Jennifer Ouellette, a new book that uses pop culture to explain the history of physics:

For example, she calls on Pugsly and Baby Pubert from the movie "Addams Family Values" to illustrate the ideas in Newton's "Principia." A character from the sci-fi cult film "X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes" helps familiarize readers with Wilhelm Röntgen's contributions to physics.

The reviewer says the analogies work most of the time, but "weaving together science and popular culture in a way that amplifies or illustrates the science is difficult to maintain for an entire book":

In some chapters, the two are not as neatly entwined as Capt. Kirk's fuel and the confirmation of the Big Bang. For instance, the relationship between comic book villain Magneto and the discovery of electromagnetism seems nonexistent except for nomenclatural overlap. And it's a stretch to use the movie "Pleasantville" and its magical television remote to introduce J.J. Thomson's discovery of the electron, just because the picture on your television comes from electrons striking a phosphor-coated screen.

So if you're looking for a last-minute gift for the Physics/Pop Culture buff on your list, look for it in your local book store or use Amazon's accelerated delivery.