Almost Everyone's Guide to Science: The Universe, Life and Everything

Atoms. Electrons. Energy. Hydrogen. Nucleus. Photons. Quantum. Particles. Molecules. Do you feel as though you are back in a physics or chemistry class? Gribbin will take you there. You'll be reminded of the chemical action of covalent bonding and the spectral signature. You'll meet geniuses of the day: Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein, and Isaac Newton. You'll read up on the supercontinent of Gondwanaland. You'll have a good chat about the Solar System, minus Pluto. There is a mention of climate change with and without human intervention. Gribbin will tell you his favorite theories with unbridled enthusiasm. You can almost hear the excitement as he warms up to his various topics. Everything Gribbin explains is done in a folksy, casual show more manner so as not to scare the reader away: "But the details need not bother us" (p 69). He will simplify the science by making Disney analogies and talk to you as if you are leaning over beers in a bar. This was fun. show less

'Almost Everyone's Guide to Science' was the first 'grown-up' science book I ever read; having miraculously saved enough pocket money, my ten-year-old self plucked a copy from the shelves of WHSmith and spent the next week or so reading and rereading it, almost obsessively. I simply loved it. Thirteen years on I can't recall the book's contents in any detail, but the effect it had on me as a child was significant: not only did I thoroughly enjoy reading it but it undoubtedly fuelled my later enthusiasm for all areas of science. So, risking some form of retrospective arrogance, I would say that this is a wonderful book for any precociously-literate child with a spark of enthusiasm for the subject.

The book brought back some memories of my high school science classes. There were some fundamental things I had forgotten in physics and chemistry and this book reminded me of those. Other than that, Gribbins has tried hard, yet failed mildly though, to write a book that could explain science to laymen.
Maybe, that's why the book is called, "Almost Everyone's Guide to Science". :)
Having said, it's a really good attempt; because I wouldn't be able to dream up of a way to explain quantum physics, molecular structure and reactions and the composition of amino acids and DNA molecules in really simple terms. Some things, just require a little acumen for true understanding, I guess!

Well done with excellent narrative descriptions of the microcosmic world. The book mostly talks about chemistry though and is not really a true guide to science as a whole.

Very short and therefore not very deep.