Gribbin, John. Almost Everyone’s Guide to Science: the Universe, Life and Everything. Yale University Press, 1999.
Reason read: October is Science Month.
Atoms. Electrons. Energy. Hydrogen. Nucleus. Photons. Quantum. Particles. Molecules. Do you feel as though you are back in a physics or chemistry class? Gribbin will take you there. You’ll be reminded of the chemical action of covalent bonding and the spectral signature. You’ll meet geniuses of the day: Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein, and Isaac Newton. You’ll read up on the supercontinent of Gondwanaland. You’ll have a good chat about the Solar System, minus Pluto. There is a mention of climate change with and without human intervention. Gribbin will tell you his favorite theories with unbridled enthusiasm. You can almost hear the excitement as he warms up to his various topics. Everything Gribbin explains is done in a folksy, casual manner so as not to scare the reader away: “But the details need not bother us” (p 69). He will simplify the science by making Disney analogies and talk to you as if you are leaning over beers in a bar. This was fun.
Author fact: Gribbin also wrote Stardust which is on my Challenge list.
Book trivia: the illustrations in Almost Everyone’s Guide to Science are helpful.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Science Boks (For the Interested But Apprehensive Layperson)” (p 211).
~*LunaSea*~ 