The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science
Apr 2008 · Sold by HMH
4.1star
9 reviews
Ebook
304
Pages
About this ebook
The New York Times bestseller that makes scientific subjects both understandable and fun: “Every sentence sparkles with wit and charm.” —Richard Dawkins
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times science journalist and bestselling author of Woman, this is a playful, passionate guide to the science all around us (and inside us)—from physics to chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, and more.
Drawing on conversations with hundreds of the world’s top scientists, Natalie Angier creates a thoroughly entertaining guide to scientific literacy. For those who want a fuller understanding of some of the great issues of our time, The Canon offers insights on stem cells, bird flu, evolution, and global warming. For students—or parents whose kids ask a lot of questions about how the world works—it brings to life such topics as how the earth was formed, or what electricity is. Also included are clear, fascinating explanations of how to think scientifically and grasp the tricky subject of probability.
The Canon is a joyride through the major scientific disciplines that reignites our childhood delight and sense of wonder—and along the way, tells us what is actually happening when our ice cream melts or our coffee gets cold, what our liver cells do when we eat a caramel, why the horse is an example of evolution at work, and how we’re all really made of stardust.
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times science journalist and bestselling author of Woman, this is a playful, passionate guide to the science all around us (and inside us)—from physics to chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, and more.
Drawing on conversations with hundreds of the world’s top scientists, Natalie Angier creates a thoroughly entertaining guide to scientific literacy. For those who want a fuller understanding of some of the great issues of our time, The Canon offers insights on stem cells, bird flu, evolution, and global warming. For students—or parents whose kids ask a lot of questions about how the world works—it brings to life such topics as how the earth was formed, or what electricity is. Also included are clear, fascinating explanations of how to think scientifically and grasp the tricky subject of probability.
The Canon is a joyride through the major scientific disciplines that reignites our childhood delight and sense of wonder—and along the way, tells us what is actually happening when our ice cream melts or our coffee gets cold, what our liver cells do when we eat a caramel, why the horse is an example of evolution at work, and how we’re all really made of stardust.
Ratings and reviews
4.1
9 reviews
A Google user
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February 11, 2010
Great overall book on everything science. I hadn't studied the different sciences since high school but it brought it back to me in a relevant manner. It basically talks about science in every day terms.
A Google user
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January 2, 2012
From the first page of the introduction, it is clear to this reader that this book will be an invaluable tool for parents of curious children or the lapsed "science enthusiast" in all of us.
Ms Angier makes her case for revelling in the delights of science fact in an imaginative, playful manner sure to delight those that- secretly- love the way words sound out loud or look on the written page.
An excellent book, and an essential volume to own to lend to one's "Science-o-phobic" friends.
Just don't expect them to give it back any time soon; it's a deceptivly addictive book.
Rick Sickelsmith
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September 2, 2023
No other book that I have read has both entertained and educated me to such grand heights.
About the author
NATALIE ANGIER is a Pulitzer-Prize winning science columnist for the New York Times. She is the author of The Canon, The Beauty of the Beastly, and Natural Obsessions. She lives outside Washington, DC.
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