That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles: 62 All-New Commentaries on the Fascinating Chemistry of Everyday Life

Joe Schwarcz's books are irresistible for me because they constitute just the kind of morsels that I look for - the connections between what we teach in chemistry courses and the world in which our students (and we) live. My only surprise in this book was that Prof. Schwarcz was able to come up with so many additional high-quality essays. One would think that his previous two compilations (which were Hal's Picks in May and July of this year) would have gotten him to near the bottom of the barrel, but there is no sign of a letup here. This compilation is heavy on health issues (which are the chemistry topics of greatest interest to students, in my experience). It includes 35 essays totaling 163 pages on those subjects. As usual, he show more brings chemical sense to topics such as the claim that mercury amalgams in dental fillings are a health hazard and the much more complex issues surrounding genetically modified foods. The other three sections of "That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles" are devoted to Everyday Science, Looking Back (history of science), and Poppycock (frauds and pseudoscience). show less

This book is chocked full of interesting anecdotes that make science fun, meaningful and accessible to all readers. All the short stories are surprising and educational, but most importantly show the relevance of science to everyday life. This chemistry professor known as "Dr. Joe" on his weekly radio program on CBC debunks myths and pseudoscience and explains everyday chemistry in fun, witty and easy to understand way. This book has many curricular links with highschool science classes.