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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 (43) from $7.71
Avg. Customer Rating:  76 reviews
Sales Rank: 10349
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:
 Too Cute By Far June 1, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I wanted this book to provide me with a sort of science literacy which a well rounded, well educated non-science oriented person should have. I am a lawyer with widely varying interests. The topics chosen by Ms. Angier (thinking scientifically, probabilities, physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology and more) are fine, but in an effort to make the information accessible, she relies far too much on popular culture references which will be dated in just a few years, as well as metaphors and exclamatory observations that just get in the way after awhile. Instead of actually helping they just are annoying. It's a shame because the actual substance of the information is pretty accessible without all that. Her chapter on evolutionary biology, however, is hardly more than a refutation of creationism. I was disappointed.
 Too whimsical, overly playful May 6, 2008
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
Admirable as Ms. Angier's book is in its attempts to lay out the basics of science, she is far too continually sarcastic in her delivery for anything truly lasting to come from this book. I fear that when you finish 'The Canon,' you will come away with some anecdotes and nothing much else.
Here's an example of an author much too concerned with being funny, and not at all trusting to her subject matter:
"A top of the line radar can pinpoint the whereabouts of a housefly two kilometers away, although clearly this is a radar with far too much time on its hands."
"Fine. They are all light. They are all electromagnetic radiation. They are all - what?"
"The universe, though, doesn't only like to cut things short, it also opts for the sagging saga approach, dictating thick volumes of time that are nearly as unfathomable as Finnegan's Wake."
"Where might Ebola weigh in? And how many of any could dance on a pin?"
"Contrary to myth, time doesn't fly particularly fast when you're dead."
"Hold your Miss Havensham's, huffed the progressive-spirited Darrell."
After several hundred pages, these trite quips (appearing as they do ten a page) grow tiresome and even somewhat alarming. Ms. Angier does not trust her reader to surrender to the facination of her subject or her research and, like an annoying friend in a museum, continues to make jokes upon viewing each painting ('I mean, I guess you can paint with one ear, am I right?')
New Yorker readers (I am one) who are not much interested in science might find a friend in Ms. Angier as she presents 'boring' material with a wink and a nudge-nudge. But to those with curious minds who purchase a book like this to actually learn a few things, move along.
 A Memorable Way to Learn the Basics April 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was initially put off by the book's introduction because it seemed as if the author was basically trying to be funny and was going way overboard in this attempt. The formula was transparent - fill the text with clever alliterations and end any sequence of items with a punch line item. It was way too cutesy. Fortunately for the reader, Ms. Angier backs off from this Dave Barry mutation and proceeds to engage the reader in dramatic and poetic prose that makes what otherwise may be dry recitations of science facts into memorable images and analogies. Even her humor, when muted, succeeds in getting points across. I would recommmend this book as an adjunct to any official science text in use.
For the first time I understand why scientists believe so firmly in evolution. Ms Angier explains clearly how and where the evidence fits to support the theory. I think, however, that Ms. Angier falsely concludes that if evolution is correct then God does not exist. I do not belief that these are mutually exclusive, and by treating them as such, she leaves some doubt as to the objectivity of her position. Since she is a journalist, or presumably so as a science news writer, one would expect a more objective position or, if not, at least an explicit statement of belief.
 the best April 1, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is the best synopsis of the major themes in science I've read. Thorough, entertaining, beautifully written. A pleasure to read.
Evolution: Anthropocentric Slander March 22, 2008
1 out of 15 found this review helpful
You will find no Galapagos Finch sexual selection here:In times of drought and smaller seed abundance finches with smaller beaks find more food,are in better shape, and breed more than finches with larger beaks. In rainy years,conversely, finches with larger beaks more suitable for the more abundant larger seeds breed more."Winners" and "losers" are [fallen] human attitudes. N.Angier's chapter on Evolutionary Biology:The Theory of Every Body, has been followed on March 18,2008 by her very popular article in The New York Times "Basics" column:"In Most Species,Faithfulness is a Fantasy".Basically a heavy scientistic apologetic for Eliot Spitzer's or any human's adultery.I might call this reasoning anthropomorphic,projecting human errors onto other species,but it is more anthropocentric in its use of science as an orthodoxy qualified to pronounce that adultery is doing what comes naturally. On the contrary it is more likely that the simpler,more beautiful Galapagos Finch model governs healthy sexual activities: No sneaking around,no lies,tears,spouses and children held hostage,occasional murders,etc. Beware the Ides of March! Stay mentally active.It is not only religion which can be misinterpreted.
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