This is a marvellously engaging tour covering the whole of modern science, from transgenic crops to quantum tangles. Written by one of the most experienced and well-known names in science writing, it is also assuredly reliable science. Although arranged for convenience and quick reference as a collection of topics in alphabetical order, it is very different from any conventional encyclopedia. Each topic tells a story, making the book eminently browsable. Packed with information, yet carrying its immense learning lightly, this is a book that would appeal to anyone with the slightest interest in how the world works.
Magic Universe: A Grand Tour of Modern Science
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'probably the broadest sweep of current science in one book... Each essayis excellently written in a style which is both entertaining and informative. Magic Universe takes us on an amazing tour through the length and breadth of science. The reader can open the book anywhere and find some fascinating facts, historical insights or just a good story. Once picked up, this book is difficult tp put down, and readers will find themselves returning to it time after time for well-written science at its interdisciplinary best. (David Chamberlain, Chemistry World )
It's this truly immense feat of multi-disciplinary conciliation, as much as the essays themselves, which explains the sublime nature of existence. Calder's own trick is that in a mere instant he can apparently transform the general reader into a superbrain. His dispatches from some of the farthest outreaches of contemporary science are concise and precise, as opposed to simple, but he has a gift for making the conceptually baffling seem approachable. 'Magic Universe' may be a little unwieldly to hold, it is exceedingly difficult to put down. (Laurence Phelan, Independent on Sunday )
It's this truly immense feat of multi-disciplinary conciliation, as much as the essays themselves, which explains the sublime nature of existence. Calder's own trick is that in a mere instant he can apparently transform the general reader into a superbrain. His dispatches from some of the farthest outreaches of contemporary science are concise and precise, as opposed to simple, but he has a gift for making the conceptually baffling seem approachable. 'Magic Universe' may be a little unwieldly to hold, it is exceedingly difficult to put down. (Laurence Phelan, Independent on Sunday )
About the Author
Nigel Calder is the author of dozens of books on science, including Einstein's Universe, Restless Earth, Nuclear Nightmares, Spaceship Earth, and The Manic Sun. The former editor of New Scientist, he has conceived and scripted many special science documentaries for BBC Television. He lives in the United Kingdom.
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First Sentence
ESSAYS would be too grand a term, implying closures that, thank goodness, science never achieves. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
ESSAYS would be too grand a term, implying closures that, thank goodness, science never achieves. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By John Hepburn
Format:Paperback
Nigel Calder offers up a clear, concise, interesting and insightful tour of some of the big issues in science today. He takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through psychology, physics, biology and paleontology - covering a diversity of topics from the Big Bang, black holes and brain images, onto the Cambrian Explosion and primate behaviour and including Time Machines, Superstring Theory and much, much more.
Chapters are linked together by ideas, and handy cross referencs are provided throughout the book. As Calder's work unfolds the reader develops a gradual idea of how different facets of science link together.
If you have read (and understood!) Stephen Hawkins, Richard Dawkins and Robert Winston, this book may prove too superficial to really challenge your thinking.
In contrast, The Magic Universe is more like a chunky magazine or a really good set of newspaper articles than a book.
With that in mind, if you're looking for a relaxed and enjoyeable introduction to a diveristy of scientific topics, you won't go far wrong with this choice.
Chapters are linked together by ideas, and handy cross referencs are provided throughout the book. As Calder's work unfolds the reader develops a gradual idea of how different facets of science link together.
If you have read (and understood!) Stephen Hawkins, Richard Dawkins and Robert Winston, this book may prove too superficial to really challenge your thinking.
In contrast, The Magic Universe is more like a chunky magazine or a really good set of newspaper articles than a book.
With that in mind, if you're looking for a relaxed and enjoyeable introduction to a diveristy of scientific topics, you won't go far wrong with this choice.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Brilliant read. Explains concepts simply and easily. Covers a wide area of modern science. Well worth reading by anyone who has queries about the more popular areas of modern science. Aimed at the intelligent layman. I recommend it to everyone.
By John Smith
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
It is fuil of small concentrated (a few pages in each) information about a large range of subjects.
I have had it as a printed book for several years but it is nice to have a copy in my kindle for mobile
browsing..
J.S
I have had it as a printed book for several years but it is nice to have a copy in my kindle for mobile
browsing..
J.S
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2.7 out of 5 stars
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Popular Science
The kind of book that Isaac Asimov used to write so well, a compendium of pieces about general science in bite sized chunks, easy to digest but quite informative. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Campbell262
1.0 out of 5 stars
Give it a miss
I found the book was too disjointed. Topics started off on a tangent and he tries to make it sound interesting by throwing some casual facts about the people or place it occurred,... Read more
Published on 16 July 2008 by Antony
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