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independent.co.uk

Natalie Angier

The Canon: The Beautiful Basics of Science

It has long been a cause of concern that many otherwise well educated people have a very poor grasp of the basics of science. Well Natalie Angier has done something about this. In The Canon: The Beautiful Basics of Science, she provides an introduction to science for such people - in her own unique style.

The book starts with an introduction where Angier expresses her dismay at the number of people who feel that science can be left behind when they enter adulthood. This is followed by chapters on probability and on understanding how things are observed and measured at widely differing scales - topics which are vital to an understanding of modern science. Angier then progresses through the sciences, starting with physics an chemistry. There is a chapter on evolutionary biology, where she exposes some of the misinformation spread by creationists, and a chapter on molecular biology which explains the nature of DNA and the workings of the cell. This is followed by a look at geology, and the book concludes with a chapter on astronomy, including the question of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe.

Angier constantly manages to find witty turns of phrase, which makes the book fun to read - for a while. I did begin to find it a bit irritating after a couple of chapters, so maybe the book is best read a chapter at a time. Overall I would say that the book is a success. Angier has interviewed a large number of scientists for this book, and has managed to produce a concise summary of a large portion of the sciences in a non-technical way.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 304 pages
ISBN: 0547053460
Salesrank: 69687
Weight:0.65 lbs

Published: 2008 Mariner Books

Amazon price $10.85

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Amazon.co.uk info

Hardcover 304 pages
ISBN: 0571239714
Salesrank: 258142
Weight:0.88 lbs

Published: 2008 Faber and Faber

Amazon price £11.09

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 304 pages
ISBN: 0547053460
Salesrank: 65343
Weight:0.65 lbs

Published: 2008 Mariner Books

Amazon price CDN$ 14.56

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 7.33:Used from CDN$ 3.52

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Product Description
In this exuberant book, the best-selling author Natalie Angier distills the scientific canon to the absolute essentials, delivering an entertaining and inspiring one-stop science education. Angier interviewed a host of scientists, posing the simple question “What do you wish everyone knew about your field?” The Canon provides their answers, taking readers on a joyride through the fascinating fundamentals of the incredible world around us and revealing how they are relevant to us every day. Angier proves a rabble-rousing, wisecracking, deeply committed tour guide in her irresistible exploration of the scientific process and the basic concepts of physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, cellular and molecular biology, geology, and astronomy. Even science-phobes will find her passion infectious as she strives "to make the invisible visible, the distant neighborly, the ineffable affable."

Product Description

In this exuberant book, the best-selling author Natalie Angier distills the scientific canon to the absolute essentials, delivering an entertaining and inspiring one-stop science education. Angier interviewed a host of scientists, posing the simple question “What do you wish everyone knew about your field?” The Canon provides their answers, taking readers on a joyride through the fascinating fundamentals of the incredible world around us and revealing how they are relevant to us every day. Angier proves a rabble-rousing, wisecracking, deeply committed tour guide in her irresistible exploration of the scientific process and the basic concepts of physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, cellular and molecular biology, geology, and astronomy. Even science-phobes will find her passion infectious as she strives "to make the invisible visible, the distant neighborly, the ineffable affable."

All froth, no beer *
This is a cutesy book, redolent with cocktail-party conversation and literary stylishness. It doesn't offer much to the curious reader. The author is constantly interrupting the writing with her sparkling metaphors. Stop it! I did like the bit where she explores why the universe is rational. In fact, the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics is one of the ultimate puzzles. After all, why SHOULD the universe be understandable? Creation is non-random; it is mathematical. I believe in The Creator; that exploration saves the book from going in the trash can - I'll at least donate it to the Library Friends book sale. I wish I had saved myself the trouble and time spent reading this book. James Trefil's 101 Things You don't Know About Science (And No One Else Does Either) is far superior.

All froth, no beer *

This is a cutesy book, redolent with cocktail-party conversation and literary stylishness. It doesn't offer much to the curious reader. The author is constantly interrupting the writing with her sparkling metaphors. Stop it!

I did like the bit where she explores why the universe is rational. In fact, the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics is one of the ultimate puzzles. After all, why SHOULD the universe be understandable? Creation is non-random; it is mathematical. I believe in The Creator; that exploration saves the book from going in the trash can - I'll at least donate it to the Library Friends book sale.

I wish I had saved myself the trouble and time spent reading this book. James Trefil's 101 Things You don't Know About Science (And No One Else Does Either) is far superior.

utterly fails *
What a great idea behind this book, and what an opportunity squandered by the author, who would rather show off her knowledge and sad attempts at wit than present scientific ideas in a clear, simple, and engaging manner! If anything, this book is the very opposite of clear, simple, and engaging. It is totally awful and I am very disappointed since I think our science-phobic mass culture needs the kind of book which this one claimed, and utterly failed, to be. The cutesy-girly style also made me squirm -- eeeww!

utterly fails *

What a great idea behind this book, and what an opportunity squandered by the author, who would rather show off her knowledge and sad attempts at wit than present scientific ideas in a clear, simple, and engaging manner! If anything, this book is the very opposite of clear, simple, and engaging. It is totally awful and I am very disappointed since I think our science-phobic mass culture needs the kind of book which this one claimed, and utterly failed, to be. The cutesy-girly style also made me squirm -- eeeww!

Science for Everyone *****
I read Natalie Angier in the NY Times whenever I can, and this book is the best of the best. It makes science fun! Get it

Science for Everyone *****

I read Natalie Angier in the NY Times whenever I can, and this book is the best of the best. It makes science fun! Get it

Science for (Only?) Poets ***
This book provides an introductory overview of contemporary scientific understanding, apparently aimed at people who have a limited background in science. As such, Angier's treatment is neither rigorous nor systematic, and many key topics in the "the canon" recieve little or no mention. In other words, the level is well below university science courses, and perhaps closer to middle-school level. Despite these limitations, Angier still manages to convey quite a lot of information, and she does it reliably. I even learned some things, despite having a strong science background. Moreover, I thought the earlier chapters dealing with scientific methodology, statistics, etc. were a nice touch. That's the positive. The biggest negative is that Angier's writing style is excessively cutesy and flowery due to her incessant use of analogies, metaphors, and jokes. I found the analogies and metaphors to be more distracting than helpful, and I found the jokes to be more corny than funny. She was overzealous and should have realized that adult readers of a book like this will already be interested in science, so she needed to just cut to the chase. Considering all of this, perhaps I can still recommend this book to readers with a limited science background, particularly readers who don't mind the writing style (I suggest reading some samples of the text to judge that). But for everyone else, this might be a book to skip. Some alternatives to consider are as follows (in roughly increasing order of sophistication): - Science Explained: The World of Science in Everyday Life (Henry Holt Reference Book) - Natural Science: Bridging the Gap, 5e - The Age of Science: What Scientists Learned in the Twentieth Century - Magic Universe: A Grand Tour of Modern Science - Scientific American: Science Desk Reference - The Scientific Companion: Exploring the Physical World with Facts, Figures, and Formulas (Wiley Popular Science) - The Ascent of Science

Science for (Only?) Poets ***

This book provides an introductory overview of contemporary scientific understanding, apparently aimed at people who have a limited background in science.

As such, Angier's treatment is neither rigorous nor systematic, and many key topics in the "the canon" recieve little or no mention. In other words, the level is well below university science courses, and perhaps closer to middle-school level. Despite these limitations, Angier still manages to convey quite a lot of information, and she does it reliably. I even learned some things, despite having a strong science background. Moreover, I thought the earlier chapters dealing with scientific methodology, statistics, etc. were a nice touch.

That's the positive. The biggest negative is that Angier's writing style is excessively cutesy and flowery due to her incessant use of analogies, metaphors, and jokes. I found the analogies and metaphors to be more distracting than helpful, and I found the jokes to be more corny than funny. She was overzealous and should have realized that adult readers of a book like this will already be interested in science, so she needed to just cut to the chase.

Considering all of this, perhaps I can still recommend this book to readers with a limited science background, particularly readers who don't mind the writing style (I suggest reading some samples of the text to judge that). But for everyone else, this might be a book to skip. Some alternatives to consider are as follows (in roughly increasing order of sophistication):

- Science Explained: The World of Science in Everyday Life (Henry Holt Reference Book)
- Natural Science: Bridging the Gap, 5e
- The Age of Science: What Scientists Learned in the Twentieth Century
- Magic Universe: A Grand Tour of Modern Science
- Scientific American: Science Desk Reference
- The Scientific Companion: Exploring the Physical World with Facts, Figures, and Formulas (Wiley Popular Science)
- The Ascent of Science

Should have stopped at "whirligig" *
I should have known that this book was going to be horrible with the word "whirligig". I agree with all the other reviewers that this book is horrible. If you want to dazzle people with the wonders of science read Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease

Should have stopped at "whirligig" *

I should have known that this book was going to be horrible with the word "whirligig". I agree with all the other reviewers that this book is horrible. If you want to dazzle people with the wonders of science read Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease

The worst book I have encountered for many years *
I was attracted by the press hype for this book and should have had the sense to read more customer reviews. Take away the unnecessary and sometimes smug rubbish from this volume and the remainder could have been published in pamphlet form as a useful, if basic guide to many key science principles, nothing more. Contrary to one of the views expressed here my opinion is that exposing a child to this kind of obscured self satisfied writing is likely to disengage them from science for a very long time if not for life. This yet another example of convoluted American English; I never thought I'd say this but, god bless the English (British) journalist.

The worst book I have encountered for many years *

I was attracted by the press hype for this book and should have had the sense to read more customer reviews. Take away the unnecessary and sometimes smug rubbish from this volume and the remainder could have been published in pamphlet form as a useful, if basic guide to many key science principles, nothing more. Contrary to one of the views expressed here my opinion is that exposing a child to this kind of obscured self satisfied writing is likely to disengage them from science for a very long time if not for life. This yet another example of convoluted American English; I never thought I'd say this but, god bless the English (British) journalist.

Beautiful Book!! *****
What a great read...does exactly what it says on the cover...explains complex scientific concepts in an easy to understand dialogue. The author clearly has real experience in presenting difficult concepts to a "lay" audience: I am not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination, however I am fascinated by the nature of the world we live in. This book gives you a detailed, yet thoroughly enjoyable insight into the basic building blocks of our world and universe. I particularly liked the conversational style of the book. It was easy to read and difficult to put down!!

Beautiful Book!! *****

What a great read...does exactly what it says on the cover...explains complex scientific concepts in an easy to understand dialogue. The author clearly has real experience in presenting difficult concepts to a "lay" audience: I am not a scientist by any stretch of the imagination, however I am fascinated by the nature of the world we live in. This book gives you a detailed, yet thoroughly enjoyable insight into the basic building blocks of our world and universe. I particularly liked the conversational style of the book. It was easy to read and difficult to put down!!

From here to infinity- or somewhjere in the vicinity. *****
As the subtitle suggests, the Canon sets out to explain the basics of science, and show the beauty of how we use the scientific method to figure out how the world works. Using plenty of real-life (often wacky)examples, Natalie Angier neatly explains most, if not all, of the concepts she covers. Where she really excels, however, is at making connections between them, which is exactly where high school science often falls short. She doesn't go into much detail about any one topic, but that's not the point of the book, so I wasn't at all disappointed. Angier is American, and some reviewers have complained that her humour and examples come mostly from her home continent. That's true, but I don't think it spoils the book in any way, and I didn't find her jokes hard to grasp- for example her quip about how you feel like more than 60 per cent of your body is water when you're bursting for a pee is about as universally human as these things come. If you're not a fan of puns, then beware- but I never felt that Angier's wordplay detracted from the scientific content she was describing. Over and over again she shows her ability to use real-life, down-to-earth examples, bring universal concepts into the realm of the average human's experience, and to bring some of the beauty of poetry into the scientific literature. I read this book because I want to be a secondary science teacher, and I found Angier's examples were an excellent source of ideas for use in the classroom. I didn't learn a lot of new science, but I did learn some new ways to explain familiar concepts, and ways to hook the interest of people who may have been turned off the very idea of science. With the fact and test-based nature of school curricula, it's a tough job indeed to get across the sense of excitement that scientific discovery brings. Angier manages this, and for that this book is to be applauded.

From here to infinity- or somewhjere in the vicinity. *****

As the subtitle suggests, the Canon sets out to explain the basics of science, and show the beauty of how we use the scientific method to figure out how the world works. Using plenty of real-life (often wacky)examples, Natalie Angier neatly explains most, if not all, of the concepts she covers. Where she really excels, however, is at making connections between them, which is exactly where high school science often falls short. She doesn't go into much detail about any one topic, but that's not the point of the book, so I wasn't at all disappointed.

Angier is American, and some reviewers have complained that her humour and examples come mostly from her home continent. That's true, but I don't think it spoils the book in any way, and I didn't find her jokes hard to grasp- for example her quip about how you feel like more than 60 per cent of your body is water when you're bursting for a pee is about as universally human as these things come. If you're not a fan of puns, then beware- but I never felt that Angier's wordplay detracted from the scientific content she was describing. Over and over again she shows her ability to use real-life, down-to-earth examples, bring universal concepts into the realm of the average human's experience, and to bring some of the beauty of poetry into the scientific literature.

I read this book because I want to be a secondary science teacher, and I found Angier's examples were an excellent source of ideas for use in the classroom. I didn't learn a lot of new science, but I did learn some new ways to explain familiar concepts, and ways to hook the interest of people who may have been turned off the very idea of science. With the fact and test-based nature of school curricula, it's a tough job indeed to get across the sense of excitement that scientific discovery brings. Angier manages this, and for that this book is to be applauded.

Annoying writing style detracts from content ***
I liked the idea of this book, its aim to provide a comprehensive, basic introduction to the sciences. Largely, it achieves this aim, but the author's punning, self-consciously funny writing style drove me to distraction. She's American, I'm English, maybe that was the problem but it was like 'Kathy Lette Does Science'. Yes, people generally find science 'difficult' but trying to sweeten the pill with dollops of humour this large is just too much.

Annoying writing style detracts from content ***

I liked the idea of this book, its aim to provide a comprehensive, basic introduction to the sciences. Largely, it achieves this aim, but the author's punning, self-consciously funny writing style drove me to distraction. She's American, I'm English, maybe that was the problem but it was like 'Kathy Lette Does Science'. Yes, people generally find science 'difficult' but trying to sweeten the pill with dollops of humour this large is just too much.

Good intentions, flawed presentation **
I set out to write a review giving my thoughts on this book, but I found that Stephen A Haines has got there before me. His lengthy review sums up the failings of the book very well. The author has the best intentions, can explain well, and clearly knows her stuff. If all the asides could be pruned from the text, and adequate illustration added, a good book might be produced. I found myself mentally applying the pruning knife as I read. As a further irritation many of the asides are incomprehensible to a non-American reader. For example this is from the section on chemistry: "We're abundantly hydrated, of course, and can blame at least 60 percent of our body weight on water molecules, more if we're a pedestrian in Manhattan too embarrassed to try sneaking into a restaurant's FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY bathroom when the maitre d' isn't looking." I did learn a few things (reading with gritted teeth), but as a whole the book was a great disappointment

Good intentions, flawed presentation **

I set out to write a review giving my thoughts on this book, but I found that Stephen A Haines has got there before me. His lengthy review sums up the failings of the book very well.

The author has the best intentions, can explain well, and clearly knows her stuff. If all the asides could be pruned from the text, and adequate illustration added, a good book might be produced.

I found myself mentally applying the pruning knife as I read. As a further irritation many of the asides are incomprehensible to a non-American reader. For example this is from the section on chemistry:

"We're abundantly hydrated, of course, and can blame at least 60 percent of our body weight on water molecules, more if we're a pedestrian in Manhattan too embarrassed to try sneaking into a restaurant's FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY bathroom when the maitre d' isn't looking."

I did learn a few things (reading with gritted teeth), but as a whole the book was a great disappointment

Fair **
While I find science absolutely fascinating, and the author likely really knows her stuff, this book just didn't keep my interest. The chapter on biology was probably the best, but still mediocre.

Fair **

While I find science absolutely fascinating, and the author likely really knows her stuff, this book just didn't keep my interest. The chapter on biology was probably the best, but still mediocre.

Scale, Order, Metaphors, Time, Puns, Jokes, and Difficult Vocabulary ***
If you wanted to learn a little bit about all aspects of science in 264 pages, what would you want to learn? Becoming healthier, wealthier, and wiser would appeal to quite a few people. But Ms. Natalie Angier doesn't have those subjects on her list. She's clearly fascinated by how everything relates to everything else and enjoys making it simpler to grasp all of those connections. If you want to know about how an electron ultimately affects the supply of water on Earth, this is the book for you. She's great on that kind of connection. If you find most science writing too dry, you may find her offbeat puns and humorous lists to your liking. Certainly, the style makes the book less dense and easier to digest . . . with one exception: I had to look up more new adjectives to understand this book than in any novel I've read in the last 10 years. Although I haven't taken many science courses (high school chemistry and college geology are my academic credentials), I do read popular science books. I found that The Canon was considerably more elementary than even my modest knowledge level. I suspect this book is most valuable for those who did poorly in science in high school, took science-for-poets courses after that, and haven't read anything about science since then. And what will this new-found knowledge allow you to do? I believe the main value of the book will be to explain basic phenomena to children without sounding like an idiot. Why don't I find the book more relevant for other purposes? Pretty much every topic that interests me in the areas of chemistry and geology (where I have some knowledge) isn't addressed in this book. Here are a few examples of what's missing: Adjusting soil acidity to get the right results in lawn and garden; what the future holds for oil and gas production at costs somewhat near today's level; what to look for in imbibing minerals in order to be healthier; and what chemicals to avoid exposure to that are often found around the house, car, and yard. So what is this book? It's a survey course in the basics. Hopefully, if you make it through a section about a science that now sounds more interesting, you'll go on to read a book with more focus on what interests you and be able to appreciate the book more because you know the basics. I found that the basics, however, often weren't the basics. The geology section is more about planetary formation than about geology. That's okay as a way to describe some aspects of geology, but I'm not really interested in planetary formation. The book's style seems sprightly at first, and later seemed forced and unnecessarily bright. It was like having dinner with someone who feels compelled to tell you a new joke every three minutes: It's too much style. But if you really don't know a proton from a black hole, The Canon will fill in what you don't know pretty quickly. I suspect that this book will need to be updated fairly frequently, and I hope that future editions will provide more variety in application for the knowledge and expository style.

Scale, Order, Metaphors, Time, Puns, Jokes, and Difficult Vocabulary ***

If you wanted to learn a little bit about all aspects of science in 264 pages, what would you want to learn? Becoming healthier, wealthier, and wiser would appeal to quite a few people. But Ms. Natalie Angier doesn't have those subjects on her list. She's clearly fascinated by how everything relates to everything else and enjoys making it simpler to grasp all of those connections. If you want to know about how an electron ultimately affects the supply of water on Earth, this is the book for you. She's great on that kind of connection.

If you find most science writing too dry, you may find her offbeat puns and humorous lists to your liking. Certainly, the style makes the book less dense and easier to digest . . . with one exception: I had to look up more new adjectives to understand this book than in any novel I've read in the last 10 years.

Although I haven't taken many science courses (high school chemistry and college geology are my academic credentials), I do read popular science books. I found that The Canon was considerably more elementary than even my modest knowledge level. I suspect this book is most valuable for those who did poorly in science in high school, took science-for-poets courses after that, and haven't read anything about science since then. And what will this new-found knowledge allow you to do? I believe the main value of the book will be to explain basic phenomena to children without sounding like an idiot.

Why don't I find the book more relevant for other purposes? Pretty much every topic that interests me in the areas of chemistry and geology (where I have some knowledge) isn't addressed in this book. Here are a few examples of what's missing: Adjusting soil acidity to get the right results in lawn and garden; what the future holds for oil and gas production at costs somewhat near today's level; what to look for in imbibing minerals in order to be healthier; and what chemicals to avoid exposure to that are often found around the house, car, and yard.

So what is this book? It's a survey course in the basics. Hopefully, if you make it through a section about a science that now sounds more interesting, you'll go on to read a book with more focus on what interests you and be able to appreciate the book more because you know the basics.

I found that the basics, however, often weren't the basics. The geology section is more about planetary formation than about geology. That's okay as a way to describe some aspects of geology, but I'm not really interested in planetary formation.

The book's style seems sprightly at first, and later seemed forced and unnecessarily bright. It was like having dinner with someone who feels compelled to tell you a new joke every three minutes: It's too much style.

But if you really don't know a proton from a black hole, The Canon will fill in what you don't know pretty quickly.

I suspect that this book will need to be updated fairly frequently, and I hope that future editions will provide more variety in application for the knowledge and expository style.

Informative, but wearying ****
As with the human DNA she so effectively extols, Angier's book has a portion of useful material, but a great deal of useless "junk". An accomplished writer, she spends more ink in demonstrating those skills than in imparting the information she hopes her readers will respect. Her own declared intention of presenting the "Basics of Science" isn't fulfilled. Nor does she explicitly explain what "The Canon" is. Instead, she portrays what science has achieved. The "Canon" is the understanding that science is a dynamic, incessant process. "Final answers" aren't to be found, nor expected. That's an admirable approach, and when she actually depicts what science has done, Angier presents it clearly. It's the dross between these points which weary the interested reader. Her frequent quips and laboured analogies add little or nothing to understanding the point. It's an open question whether the "average" reader will endure her flowery prose, sifting it out for the data so camouflaged. After addressing the question of how science has fallen into disrepute in her country, Angier embarks on a quest to explain its value. She explains that "Thinking Scientifically" requires mental outreach, avoiding acceptance of status quo. "Mysteries" can be explained, which does not, as some hold, diminish either their beauty or value. Opinion has its place, but the reality of science is its reality. Moving through a description of "probabilities" and the scales of Nature, she addresses the "hard sciences" of chemistry and physics. Through them all, she attempts to "lighten the mood" with pithy comments and sometimes bizarre, sometimes arcane, illusions. Whoever is "Brian 'String Bean' Greene" when he's at home? What is the "Vin Diesel line of lawn tools"? That's not counting all the "New Yorkisms" peppering the narrative. The chapters on evolutionary biology and cell mechanism are easily the best. In fact, they nearly redeem the book from her surfeit of puns and pithy asides. The biological topics are of great interest to her, and are the ones most needed by her audience. After all, it's not Edwin Hubble or Kip Thorne that US "creationists" attack, but Charles Darwin and the host of researchers supporting his "theory". Her discource on the difference between a "theory" and a "hypothesis" should be read in every schoolroom and from every pulpit in the US. That every cell in our bodies, except the mature red blood cells, all contain an exact copy of DNA that launched our lives, will come as a surprise to many. Angier carefully explains that DNA doesn't change, but some parts of it will do one task while other segments have different roles. While she's adept at presenting what science has found in Nature, she skips entirely the process of how things are revealed. Although she wants her readers to understand why science is important and hopes to see more young people enter the various fields, nowhere does she suggest the amount of dedicated work involved. Geologists, she notes, are the most interdisciplinary, enjoying perilous climbs and pottering about in labs doing analytical chemical or radiometric work. Yet, how much work it takes to understand what the results mean remains obscured. Fossils are explained, but palaeontology as a discipline is not. Instead we are deluged with references to candy, cartoon characters and sitcoms. Even those are limited to US sources, leaving the book an empty promise to those outside that nation. The book contains not a single illustration, whether of examples of scale, cell structure or geophysical diagram. It might be said that some topics might be more amenable to diagram than others, but that hardly justifies the exclusion of all. The entire book is words, a good many of them made up or transferred bodily and only mildly appropriately, from other places. It also avoids any reference to the cognitive sciences and evolutionary psychology. She was wise in that omission - a good many harsh comments from the past would return to haunt her. That science, however, has as many implications for society as does the making of new proteins or how far we can see into the cosmos. Although a good book promoting recognition of science's value is needed, particularly in the US, this one hasn't quite done the job. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

Informative, but wearying ****

As with the human DNA she so effectively extols, Angier's book has a portion of useful material, but a great deal of useless "junk". An accomplished writer, she spends more ink in demonstrating those skills than in imparting the information she hopes her readers will respect. Her own declared intention of presenting the "Basics of Science" isn't fulfilled. Nor does she explicitly explain what "The Canon" is. Instead, she portrays what science has achieved. The "Canon" is the understanding that science is a dynamic, incessant process. "Final answers" aren't to be found, nor expected. That's an admirable approach, and when she actually depicts what science has done, Angier presents it clearly. It's the dross between these points which weary the interested reader. Her frequent quips and laboured analogies add little or nothing to understanding the point. It's an open question whether the "average" reader will endure her flowery prose, sifting it out for the data so camouflaged.

After addressing the question of how science has fallen into disrepute in her country, Angier embarks on a quest to explain its value. She explains that "Thinking Scientifically" requires mental outreach, avoiding acceptance of status quo. "Mysteries" can be explained, which does not, as some hold, diminish either their beauty or value. Opinion has its place, but the reality of science is its reality. Moving through a description of "probabilities" and the scales of Nature, she addresses the "hard sciences" of chemistry and physics. Through them all, she attempts to "lighten the mood" with pithy comments and sometimes bizarre, sometimes arcane, illusions. Whoever is "Brian 'String Bean' Greene" when he's at home? What is the "Vin Diesel line of lawn tools"? That's not counting all the "New Yorkisms" peppering the narrative.

The chapters on evolutionary biology and cell mechanism are easily the best. In fact, they nearly redeem the book from her surfeit of puns and pithy asides. The biological topics are of great interest to her, and are the ones most needed by her audience. After all, it's not Edwin Hubble or Kip Thorne that US "creationists" attack, but Charles Darwin and the host of researchers supporting his "theory". Her discource on the difference between a "theory" and a "hypothesis" should be read in every schoolroom and from every pulpit in the US. That every cell in our bodies, except the mature red blood cells, all contain an exact copy of DNA that launched our lives, will come as a surprise to many. Angier carefully explains that DNA doesn't change, but some parts of it will do one task while other segments have different roles.

While she's adept at presenting what science has found in Nature, she skips entirely the process of how things are revealed. Although she wants her readers to understand why science is important and hopes to see more young people enter the various fields, nowhere does she suggest the amount of dedicated work involved. Geologists, she notes, are the most interdisciplinary, enjoying perilous climbs and pottering about in labs doing analytical chemical or radiometric work. Yet, how much work it takes to understand what the results mean remains obscured. Fossils are explained, but palaeontology as a discipline is not. Instead we are deluged with references to candy, cartoon characters and sitcoms. Even those are limited to US sources, leaving the book an empty promise to those outside that nation.

The book contains not a single illustration, whether of examples of scale, cell structure or geophysical diagram. It might be said that some topics might be more amenable to diagram than others, but that hardly justifies the exclusion of all. The entire book is words, a good many of them made up or transferred bodily and only mildly appropriately, from other places. It also avoids any reference to the cognitive sciences and evolutionary psychology. She was wise in that omission - a good many harsh comments from the past would return to haunt her. That science, however, has as many implications for society as does the making of new proteins or how far we can see into the cosmos. Although a good book promoting recognition of science's value is needed, particularly in the US, this one hasn't quite done the job. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]