Sun 23 Sep 2007
Audio Book Review: The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier
Posted by Liz Lewis under AudiobooksNo Comments
Buckle up for a joy ride through physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and astronomy. Drawing on conversations with hundreds of the world’s top scientists and her own work as an award-winning science writer, Natalie Angier does the impossible: she makes science fascinating and seriously fun, even for those of us who, in Angier’s words, “still can’t tell the difference between a proton, a photon, and a moron”.
Most of the profound questions we will explore in our lives (such as those involving evolution, global warming, or stem cells) have to do with science. So do a lot of everyday things, like our ice-cream melting, our coffee getting cold, and our vacuum cleaner running (or not). What does our liver do when we eat a caramel? How does the horse demonstrate evolution at work? Are we really made of stardust? (Yes we are.)
In The Canon, Lewis Thomas meets Lewis Carroll in a book destined to become a modern classic, because it quenches our curiosity, sparks our interest in the world around us, reignites our childhood delight in discovering how things work, and instantly makes us smarter.
This is a playful, passionate, ebullient guide to the science all around us by a Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author.
Tags: the canon: a whirligig tour of the beautiful basics of science, natalie angier, science & technology, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy
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