In THOREAU’S MICROSCOPE, the title story is a personal account of an expedition to traverse the California High Sierras with writer/colleagues/friends to name a mountain, at 12,691 feet high, after the famous poet and naturalist Henry David Thoreau.

The climb is certainly no Sunday stroll. In this account, Blumlein offers his own observations and opinions as a scientist/surgeon/explorer of the earth and cosmos, and what it means to understand life and death.

The haunting “Fidelity” is about the breakup of a marriage: even more importantly, what actually draws potential spouses together. What creates a relationship? What are the behaviors it needs to help sustain it? The tale is about that and so much more.

“Know How, Can Do” involves a science experiment that combines the DNA of a human brain with a worm host and the reaction of the worm/human to what life is, can or perhaps should be.

“A Babe in the Woods” is an interview conducted by author Terry Bisson on the challenges and changes that Blumlein has experienced in his career.