Undead Science: Science Studies and the Afterlife of Cold Fusion, by Bart Simon
Reviewed by Dieter Britz

A science studies book by science sociologist Bart Simon. BS takes a supposedly neutral look at cold fusion, and the main point of the book is that CF died, as far as the mainstream science community is concerned, but lives on in a parallel community of researchers, some of whom are diverting grant money, some are retirees and working at home, and some being amateurs. BS extends the "undead" metaphor (but never goes as far as mentioning zombies) to such fields as "hauntology" and the like. He profusely cites other sociologists for single words, but is less profuse with sources of scientific statements, and is clearly weak on chemistry and physics. The book would have benefitted from a run past a few experts in these fields. However, the book does provide a good timeline of CF and some background information, obtained from interviews, that has not been presented elsewhere.