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Featured Book

We need to talk about Kelvin by Marcus Chown

The things we react to first about a book are its cover, its title and its author. This one has an eye-popping cover in a very 2008/9 comic style, a title that really grabs the attention (even if the pun is a bit wince-making) and an author that immediately gives you the reassurance that you are going to have a good time - Marcus Chown is one the most consistently entertaining popular science writers in the business.

For entertainment value, and driving pace, Kelvin never lets the reader down. From the start we are bombarded with amazing facts, driven by Chown's very effective idea of taking everyday aspects of human existence and exploring the exciting science that lies behind them. So, for instance, the partial reflection through a night-time window leads on to the consideration of the quantum theory of light and much more. Later on, we discover more about the nature of atoms and heat, thermodynamics and cosmology.

Chown's great strength is that he can counter the QI glaze effect. On the TV show QI, when they occasionally have a panellist with a science background, the other competitors start to glaze over whenever that person starts on about a science subject. They visibly drop off and lose interest. It's very easy to present something like the Pauli exclusion principle that is at the heart of subatomic physics in a way that would put the reader to sleep as well - but Chown makes it interesting and makes it seem very logical.

A lot of the content is fairly familiar ground if you regularly read popular science books, but that doesn't stop it being interesting even if it is familiar - and for many readers there will be much that is new. Even for the popular science enthusiasts there will be some surprises, for example the shock revelation that 99 per cent of astronomers get the answer to Olber's paradox -why is the night sky black, rather than full of stars? - wrong. And I rather like the way he finishes the book on a very open topic - why we aren't being constantly visited by aliens.

Inevitably there are a few small gripes. Marcus Chown has told me in the past that he doesn't have any illustrations in his books. It's words or nothing. This is usually fine, and he does a great job of painting a picture with his words. But there were a couple of occasions, particularly when describing the difference between fermions and bosons, when a diagram or two really would have helped untangle what was being said. Another problem I had is that to make the material approachable he is very definitive. You would think there was no possibility of alternative theories to some of the concepts mentioned. And very occasionally his cracking pace gets in the way of understanding. When he says that light being produced by an electron is a bit like a 40 tonne truck emerging from a matchbox, I want to know a bit more - but he's already on to the next thing. But these are all very minor worries.

All in all, a great idea for a book, a very enjoyable read and a strong addition to the Chown oeuvre.

UK version hardback, US paperback

Review by Brian Clegg

Instructions for Me by Cinthia Jan/Jennifer Miles  age range 4-8 *

Is it possible to present science to four to eight-year olds? Absolutely. But it isn't easy. The first essential for this age group is top quality illustrations. And Instructions for Me sets off well with some charming and effective pictures by Jennifer Miles. I particularly liked the way some detail was thrown in for the adult reader, as, for example, when the girl in the story is working on a laptop with a book by Crick and Watson, the discoverers of the structure of DNA, open on her desk, and a famous photograph of the pair with a stick model of the molecule on her screen. There's a lot of good detail in the illustrations.

Secondly, it's important to get the message across in the text without labouring it too much. The book has to work as a storybook in its own right. Again, Instructions for Me does this well. The point of the book, as you have probably realized by now is explain the role of DNA in making us what we are. We learn about the existence of cells, playing different roles in the body, and of the immensely long 'instruction book' of DNA, curled up in a tiny cell, which will use only part of those instructions to make it what it is. We also discover our DNA is more similar to the apes than a dog, which is closer to a mouse than a tomato and so on.

There are a couple of niggles. The book is written in verse. This only should be done if the author is capable of high quality verse. Apart from anything else, this is verse that will have to be read aloud, so it has really work rhythmically. In places it doesn't quite make it. And there are a couple of points brushed over - the scientist character who explains everything is called a wizard - I'm not sure why this is necessary - and though the illustrations make a big thing of the double helix form of DNA, it is never mentioned or explained, which was a shame (though that might have made what is already quite a long book for this age group over-lengthy).

However, this should not detract from the fact that the content is good, the illustrations excellent and the whole package works well as an opportunity for young children to find out about a key aspect of science while still having fun. Recommended.

Only in hardback

Reviewed by Jo Reed

Featured Gifts

  Looking for a different present, or a gift for someone who's difficult to buy for? Take a look at this:

Gift review - Organizing a Murder

There seems a strong correlation between being interested in science and getting fun out of cracking fictional murder mysteries. There have been "murder mystery party kits" around for a long time, but they are expensive and only get you through a single mystery.

Produced by our own Brian Clegg, this is a very clever alternative. This ebook in the popular Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format provides twelve different mysteries, with setting as varied as a British brewery and a starship in which to display your deductive powers. Mysteries (they aren't all murders) come in different levels from simple to challenging and have different ways to play - some are little more than treasure hunts, while others require the detective to put together clues, evidence and witness statements to try to beat the criminal.

Unlike the traditional kits, everyone playing is a detective (either individually or in teams), so there's none of that dressing up and play acting. This might be a disappointment to some, but personally I'm deeply relieved. It also means that the game can be played over a shorter timescale if desired.

The content is a little rough and ready - there could have been more work done on the design - but considering the incredible value for money, this is hardly a major issue.

The thing that really makes the product is ability to freely print from the PDF ebook. This means you can run off a set of answer sheets to give your players, print off the clues as and when you want them - all without damaging your original as you would have to with a physical book. This is perhaps the best application of a PDF we've ever seen - it's absolutely ideal.

All in all a brilliant little ebook (around 118 pages) to use either at parties or for team building exercises - or just for fun.

There is a free to download sample containing the introduction, and part of one of the simpler mysteries, to get an idea of the format. You can download it by RIGHT CLICKING HERE and selecting "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." to download.

Not got the free Adobe Acrobat reader?

Brian Clegg, a best-selling author with over 20 conventional books in print including Instant Stress Management, Imagination Engineering, Light Years and Infinity.

Please note that this ebook is licensed solely to the buyer and may not be distributed or resold in electronic or paper form.

Buy Organizing a Murder in UK pounds (Adobe PDF format) £10.99 IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD - you will be able to pay securely using a credit card or PayPal. Select Return to Merchant at the end of the transaction to get to the download page.
Buy Organizing a Murder in US dollars  (Adobe PDF format) $22.99 IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD - you will be able to pay securely using a credit card or PayPal. Select Return to Merchant at the end of the transaction to get to the download page.

Gift category - bargain

Reviewed by Martin O'Brien