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alfyasmeen's review
5.0
If I had to recommend one popular science book for children/teens to study in schools here, it would be this. It's absolutely amazing and mind-blowing how seemingly complex matters can be made to be understood so easily, by everyone.
Now, you might think that this book is for children/young adults only. Wrong. I knew almost everything mentioned in this book but I don't think I ever really truly understood it that simply before. It will clarify what you already knew and make it easier for you to explain it to others. Either way, it's a fun read and it is aesthetically pleasing. I think I'll purchase the hardcover version of this book (the one I have is from iBooks), and keep it in my shelf for future reference - or whenever I need to explain something to someone. I will also try to get my nieces/nephews to read it once they are old enough to understand.
The chapters include:
1- What is reality? What is magic?
2- Who was the first person?
3- Why are there so many different kinds of animals?
4- What are things made of?
5- Why do we have night and day, winter and summer?
6- What is the sun?
7- What is a rainbow?
8- When and how did everything begin?
9- Are we alone?
10- What is an earthquake?
11- Why do bad things happen?
12- What is a miracle?
The God Delusion might have been a disappointment, but this book made Richard Dawkins awesome again. I am truly impressed.
wildflowerz76's review
4.0
This book isn't written for me. I'd guess that this book is written for the late elementary school/middle school set. It's filled with facts and stories and while it doesn't talk down to you, it's definitely written in a more simple language and repeats quite often to drive home a point. I'd feel pretty confident giving this to my 2nd grader (who reads way above her grade level) to start some discussions. There are things in here that she wouldn't quite get, but that's where the discussion comes in. This is one I'll definitely buy for this purpose. However, keeping in mind that I'm the one who read this one, this only gets a B- from me.
grayxen's review
4.0
hashtag religion is a myth.
i can't tell if he writes in the tone of talking to preteens because people act and think like kids or if this is actually a book for kids.
either way he's right about everything, as per usual :)
i can't tell if he writes in the tone of talking to preteens because people act and think like kids or if this is actually a book for kids.
either way he's right about everything, as per usual :)
korey's review
3.0
Overview of “first principles” to explain past fantasy. More of a young adult primer.
mcsnide's review
3.0
This book was not at all what I was expecting from the title. Having read a few books on mind, AI, and neuroscience, I was expecting a challenging discussion. Instead, I found a book that seemed to be aimed at explaining how the world works to teenagers. If it had been named Why Things Are the Way They Are, it would have been tremendous.
In explaining how we know what's really true, though, it leaves much to be desired. The author ignores Cartesian dualism with a wave of the hand and insists (without any explanation) that we can use our senses to discover what's real. While I am an empiricist, it doesn't seem fair to ASSUME empiricism in a book that claims to be about epistemology. And he never even deals with the question of what truth is and whether it's even attainable.
All that said, I'd highly recommend this book to youngsters and people who don't have much background knowledge but want to learn about science. The illustrations by Dave McKean are tremendous, and the book is an easy, simple read - a nice primer on observational science and how the universe works. The author is a great communicator and presents his ideas cleanly (even if a bit too neatly at times). He even has the humility to admit when a subject is too technical for him to explain well, which I find admirable. I just wish that humility extended to epistemology.
In explaining how we know what's really true, though, it leaves much to be desired. The author ignores Cartesian dualism with a wave of the hand and insists (without any explanation) that we can use our senses to discover what's real. While I am an empiricist, it doesn't seem fair to ASSUME empiricism in a book that claims to be about epistemology. And he never even deals with the question of what truth is and whether it's even attainable.
All that said, I'd highly recommend this book to youngsters and people who don't have much background knowledge but want to learn about science. The illustrations by Dave McKean are tremendous, and the book is an easy, simple read - a nice primer on observational science and how the universe works. The author is a great communicator and presents his ideas cleanly (even if a bit too neatly at times). He even has the humility to admit when a subject is too technical for him to explain well, which I find admirable. I just wish that humility extended to epistemology.
selket16's review
5.0
This really does make the world around us seem magical, while using science to explain it. It was hard to put this book down.
reachersaid_'s review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0