The Universe in Your Hand

Christophe Galfard

Why I looked at this book

It's an intriguing idea, to impart a knowledge of physics via stories rather than via textbooks. Gamow's Mr Tompkins series was one approach, but this seems somewhat different. How well will it succeed? It would be nice to believe it, but I do have some doubts so I'll have to see.

First impressions

I'm not sure I like the style of this book - sending the reader on an imaginary journey through the solar system and on towards the stars and all the time emphasising how amazing it all is. Galfard does manage to get in quite a bit of information on the way though, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt - if the book doesn't just stick with the 'journey' format then it might be quite interesting.