Not many writers can make astrophysics interesting. I've actually come across two articles on black holes in one week. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2011 was the first, and to be honest, quite a bit of it whooshed over my head. I wished I had read this book first, I would have appreciated the other more, or at least understood what a singularity means in the world of black holes. The simplicity at which the author presents the material and then builds to more complex ideas is what makes this extremely well done. Toss in some amazing facts, stories about Einstein, great artwork, good design, and you have a winner.
This book isn't going to attract mobs of readers. Personally, I am not particularly interested in black holes, but in a sense, the text created its own gravitational pull, sucking me into the science by comparing concrete concepts such as whirlpools and skaters with the energy of a black hole. This is probably the most I'll get interested in the topic. I can't wait to share this title with my grade 5 teachers for their nonfiction unit that they will be doing next year. Not to mention how it ties in with STEM. Enjoy this quick expository read.
4 Smileys
No comments:
Post a Comment