Magic Universe: The Oxford Guide to Modern Science - Hardcover

Calder, Nigel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198507925 ISBN 13: 9780198507925

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2003

Synopsis

Magic Universe Bringing science to the general reader, this work offers a tour of the horizons of knowledge, from quarks to linguistics, climate change to cloning, and chaos to superstrings, presented as a set of self-contained stories. These stories are arranged as A - Z entries. Full description

About this title

Review:

Nigel Calder's Magic Universe: the Oxford Guide to Modern Science functions as a reference book but to describe it as such is to do it a great disservice. Reference books do the same job as encyclopaedias; they tell you what you want to know about something specific--in this case, atoms, genomes, gravity, cosmology, and all things scientific. There are several differences between a typical reference book and Calder's. For a start you can read Magic Universe for pleasure because he has an eye for the most arresting angle as well as an informal and highly engaging prose style. He is a good story-teller still in the habit of keeping his audience entertained as well as informed.

Two hundred years ago it was possible and common for the interested amateur to know most of the issues connected with the whole field of science. Modern specialisation and the emergence of entirely new areas of knowledge have made that quest seem all but impossible. Calder's wish is to take the reader on a cross-disciplinary hike taking in the many subdivisions and ending up with a good general grasp of the whole field of scientific knowledge. The book contains about 150 entries arranged from A to Z and each one functions as a self-contained mini-story. The most efficient way to read the book--if one is interested in particular areas of science--is to follow the cross references, but simply opening the book at random and following one's nose is the most fun. Overall, this an unusual and surprisingly addictive book well worth the cover price. --Larry Brown

Review:

Here's evidence of a steady hand, a cool nerve and a clear sense of what matters...Nigel Calder is a science writer with a superb record and immense experience...Dip and dart. (Malcolm Smith, Guardian)

A must for every student of science, and the ideal compendium for non-scientists of any age trying to keep abreast. (John Cornwell, Sunday Times)

In this compendium he deals seriously yet entertainingly with just about every sicientific subject you can imagine, and many that you cannot...a solid reference source for many years to come. (Independent Review)

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0198507925
• ISBN 13: 9780198507925
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 768