First sentence:"Welcome."
Description:
"One of the world's most beloved writers takes his most challenging trip yet, through some of the toughest questions that scientists of all kinds have been trying to answer for years - sometimes for centuries.
On this intellectual odyssey, Bill Bryson puts his insatiable curiosity to use as he apprentices himself to the great scientific minds of today, and of history. In the course of this entertainingand revealing question, Bryson asks not only "what" and "how," but more importantly,"why." Are the oceans getting saltier over time, or less salty? How do earthquakes happen? What is a black hole? And how on earth did we ever figure these things out?
Here's science like you never learned it in school - lucid, relevant, entertaining, and often very, very funny." -- from the back cover
My thoughts:
I think this will be the book that I will go back to again and again. There were so many interesting facts to learn, and I enjoyed reading about how various scientists discovered new information that often surprised them. I liked reading about William Herschel's discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781 and how he wanted to name it after King George III (Georgium Sidus). I also liked learning about prehistoric guinea pigs the size of cows.
Date read: 8/24/2009
Book #: 43
Challenges: Dewey Decimal Challenge, Non-Fiction Five Challenge 2009
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Nonfiction
ISBN-10: 0385660049
ISBN-13: 9780385660044
Publisher: Anchor Canada
Year: 2003
# of Pages: 478
Binding: Trade Paperback
LibraryThing page
1 comment:
Hi Krin, I had never seen your blog before, but on the Non Fiction Five reviews on Trish's blog I saw that you had read this book and clicked through to your review. I'm glad you liked it, I read it some time back and loved it thoroughly... One of my best nonfiction reads ever!
Post a Comment