NON-FICTION: What a Wonderful World: One Man's Attempt to Explain the Big Stuff by Marcus Chown

Image from Amazon.com

At a glance: humour, non-fiction, science (& assorted other subjects)

From Goodreads:

Why do we breathe? What is money? How does the brain work? Why did life invent sex? Does time really exist? How does capitalism work - or not, as the case may be? Where do mountains come from? How do computers work? How did humans get to dominate the Earth? Why is there something rather than nothing?

In What a Wonderful World, Marcus Chown, bestselling author of Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You and the Solar System app, uses his vast scientific knowledge and deep understanding of extremely complex processes to answer simple questions about the workings of our everyday lives. Lucid, witty and hugely entertaining, it explains the basics of our essential existence, stopping along the way to show us why the Atlantic is widening by a thumbs' length each year, how money permits trade to time travel, why the crucial advantage humans had over Neanderthals was sewing, and why we are all living in a giant hologram.*

* took the liberty of adding two commas.


Luna comments

I've read three of Chown's books, & they all have clear & simple explanations. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

But previously, he'd been explaining quantum physics. (Well, that was the subject matter of Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You and We Need to Talk About Kelvin, which were the two other books of his that I'd read.) In this book, he delves into various other subjects, including: history, economics, biology. & quantum physics - that's there too.

So this book is really good if you want to just get a general understanding of a range of topics. Even if you're the type who thinks that science isn't the thing for you, I'd still recommend it because this book is really about explaining [a part] of everything that makes the world what it is today. Of course, nothing to our current knowledge can really do that, but this is a pretty good attempt. How can it not be fascinating, to see all the tools and paints used to create this big picture?

Closing

I don't really have much to say. It's really good. Read it =]