If I can only persuade you to read one of these science titles let it be this one, it’s easily the best science book I’ve read in a long time. And in Michael Brooks you have an author who has the great gift of communication and the ability to write about complex issues with such clarity that ideas like Quantum Physics begin to make sense. I loved the sense of adventure contained in his book and thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the world of scientific mystery he reveals.

Like for Like Reading:
How to  Make a Tornado: The Strange and Wonderful Things That Happen When Scientists Break Free, New Scientist

Synopsis

Science starts to get interesting when things don't make sense. Even today there are experimental results that the most brilliant scientists can neither explain nor dismiss. In the past, similar anomalies have revolutionised our world: in the sixteenth century, a set of celestial irregularities led Copernicus to realise that the Earth goes around the sun and not the reverse.

In 13 Things That Don't Make Sense Michael Brooks meets thirteen modern-day anomalies that may become tomorrow's breakthroughs. Is ninety six percent of the universe missing? If no study has ever been able to definitively show that the placebo effect works, why has it become a pillar of medical science? Was the 1977 signal from outer space a transmission from an alien civilization? Spanning fields from chemistry to cosmology, psychology to physics, Michael Brooks thrillingly captures the excitement and controversy of the scientific unknown.

Reviews

'Fascinating... Brooks reawakens us to the astonishing fact of our mere existence, the strangeness of the world around us, and the astonishing amount that science has yet to discover'
Christopher Hart, Sunday Times

'Brooks is an exemplary science writer... This is the sort of science book one always hopes for. Learned, but easy to read. Packed with detail, but clear. Reading it will make you feel clever'
William Leith, Daily Telegraph

About the Author

Michael Brooks, who has a PhD in quantum physics, is a consultant for New Scientist. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, Independent and Observer. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation