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| The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science | 
| Author: Natalie Angier
Publisher: Mariner Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $1.84
You Save: $14.11 (88%)
New (41) from $7.73
Avg. Customer Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 8967
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0547053460
Dewey Decimal Number: 500
EAN: 9780547053462
ASIN: 0547053460
Publication Date: April 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Over 600,000 Feedbacks Posted!!! Great Buy!!!*** Never Used*** May Have a Publisher's Mark~We have over 3,500,000 Books Sold!!!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Fruitful Marriage of Science and Literature June 5, 2007
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
An eminently readable tour through the major scientific disciplines. The author has somehow managed to convey sometimes difficult and complex topics in a coherent and enjoyable fashion - and it is through the interest sparked by the pleasure of reading that much of this seemingly daunting material seems very approachable and even fun. Although good writing and good science rarely go hand in hand, Ms. Angier has somehow found the `key' to applying a literate style that is nonetheless engaging. Ideas are simply but not simplistically represented. Natalie Angier has indeed succeeded in smashing the imaginary "wall" between science and literature - proving that a well-crafted document can function as both; simultaneously, and equally.
 Witty Science June 5, 2007
26 out of 30 found this review helpful
"The Canon" is a book that tries to bring science into the grasp of the ordinary, science-ignorant reader. The author attempts to make science accessible through the use of witty prose, colorful analogies, and outrageous metaphors. Mostly she succeeds, although the scientifically literate may find this book too fluffy.
I would skip the introduction and get right to the meat of the book. In successive chapters the author looks at scientific methods of measurement, probabilities, and calibration, then proceeds onward with a chapter each on physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, geology, and astronomy. Along the way she comes out with a strong defense of Darwinism, a good history of the world, a less good history of the cosmos, and a pretty good account of DNA. In a book of this length and breadth much of importance is left out but, if you learn everything "the Canon" tells you, you will have reached a pretty high level of familiarity with several disciplines of science.
Smallchief
Best Audio Book in Years May 31, 2007
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
"The best audio book in years, perfect for every frustrated or want to be scientist.
Angier explains all of the why questions."
Priceless...with disclaimer May 28, 2007
21 out of 24 found this review helpful
In the United States nowadays, a person can graduate from college having taken only a couple of token soft science classes, and these may have been adjusted (dumbed down) for humanities majors. A surprising percentage (well over half?) of our US population doesn't believe in evolution. In the industrialized world, we rank dead last for this statistic, except for Turkey, which is caught up in the Muslim version of intelligent design. The vast majority of our state and federal legislators are not educated in the sciences, but in the humanities. No wonder they are so easily misled when it comes to making informed decisions about, for example, climate change.
A decision to side with mainstream science is almost always the right decision, but it would be nice to know what mainstream science is saying (read "Discover" or other science magazines), why it is so valid, and how the scientific method works. Of course, it's not perfect - it's administered by people, with all their tendencies to delusion, misuse of data, and greed; but it's relentlessly self-correcting and it has consistently provided the most usable strategy to find out how things work.
Natalie Angier has written a book that will help us with our scientific literacy. The first three chapters cover basics about the scientific method. The human default method of decision-making, gut instinct, worked well for hunter-gatherers, but today we can do better. Read these chapters if you don't read anything else (one chapter inspired me to order a book on probabilities). The next six chapters are about the specific fields of physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, geology, or astronomy.
How much physics can you learn in 34 pages? Well, you get a feel for how and why electrons can be harnessed to power our homes - or perhaps you'd like to know how the Houdini-like maneuver, "quantum leap" got its name. The chapter on chemistry gives an overview of chemical bonds - why DNA has hydrogen bonds, a weaker type (so they can easily unzip for reading by messenger RNA) and stronger types of bonds are on nitrogen (and why that makes them useful as explosives). In the evolution chapter, you learn why "nothing in biology makes any sense outside of evolution," with a strong outline on the basics. Despite what you may have heard, "Natural selection is about as nonrandom a force as you can imagine." - Richard Dawkins.
In the chapter on molecular biology, you learn how a cell bristles with proteins, looking (if you could lift the lid and look inside) like a beehive or ant-bed of activity, but at fast-forward speed. This beautifully written chapter reminded me of Lewis Thomas's classic, "Lives of a Cell" from 1974. Geologists immediately descend onto the site when a new tunnel is blasted through a hillside. We live on a planet that records its own history and each stone is a potential Rosetta stone. Astronomy is among the most popular of sciences, "chaster than other sciences, purer of heart and freer of impurities, mutagens, teratogens, and animal testing." It answers the eternal questions: Who are we? Where do we come from?
Each chapter covers enough basics to be able to provide a strong finish. For the scientifically challenged, for the reader who needs a science booster, or for the confirmed science nut like me, don't let this book get away. It is even available in audio so you can buff up your education the easy way.
Now for the disclaimer: The 5 stars is for the subject matter. Her deliver is "too cute" to the point of distraction. The last book I recall of this type was Bill Bryson's - "A Short History of Nearly Everything." His book doesn't suffer from maladies of this sort and is superior.
 Dreadful May 28, 2007
20 out of 34 found this review helpful
This book is dreadful. It is very frustrating. It is a prime example of diarrhea of the keyboard. The auther is so enchanted with all her similies, puns comparisons, and over-elaborate prose that one yearns for a useful fact. I found it difficul to read and I wish I hadn't bought it. She could have told the story in half as many pages.
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