Eureka: a book of scientific anecdotes

In science, as in any subject, there are some stories which tend to be remebered. either because they are amusing or because they illustrate a particular feature of human nature. In 'Eureka' Adrian Berry brings together a collection of such anecdotes. Berry is a fan of space travel, so there are plenty on that subject, such as the story of Apollo 13, and the possibility of a galaxy-wide communication network. However, there are also plenty of anecdotes concerning other sciences, such as Darwin's visit to the Galapagos islands, and the question of whether machines can think.

The first section is 'Tales of Explorers', such as Columbus and Magellan. I found it a bit strange that the book began in this way, as these stories don't seem to be particularly scientific. After that the book gets more into its proper subject. I would say, however, that the reader shouldn't expect too much from this book. The anecdotes are not the sort that have you laughing out loud, nor are they making any particular point - Berry has just collected together things which other people have written which happen to interest him. So its a book for the reader to browse through and find a story to while away the time.