From Publishers Weekly
Berman (Cosmic Adventure) has written a slim volume filled with enticing scientific tidbits. He expands on the "Strange Universe" column he writes for Astronomy magazine and spends much of his time discussing things astronomical, occasionally branching into physics. The book is split in two sections: "What's Going On Here?" and "What's Going On Out There?" The first half deals with earthly phenomena (how rainbows are formed, the intricacies of UV radiation, unusual facts about meteors and meteorites, and the mechanics of celestial eclipses, to name just a few) while the second half takes a broader view of the universe, addressing such topics as the origin of the universe, whether black holes actually exist and, if they do, whether they are capable of "swallowing" everything in their vicinity, and whether time and space are interchangeable. Throughout, Berman adopts the style of a magazine column; each chapter is self-contained and relatively short, making them easy and enjoyable to read. Berman is writing for a nonspecialized audience and is usually successful at making fairly complex scientific issues generally accessible, even if he does pepper his prose with an overabundance of puns. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
In this collection of (mostly) new essays, the author of Astronomy magazine's "Strange Universe" column looks at familiar things in a new way. A drive to work, for instance, becomes a lesson in Doppler physics, light spectra, heat transfer, Bernoulli's principle, and much more. Glass, we learn, is transparent because its electrons match the vibrations of visible light, and when a photon hits the outside of your windshield, it sets off a chain reaction of photon-duplication until, bursting out the other side of the window, comes a photon identical to the one that hit it. "The light hitting your eyes is not the same that first struck the glass, but a clone," Berman writes. He also tells us how soap works, why falling objects of different weight fall at the same rate, whether water really goes down the drain in the reverse direction below the equator (it doesn't), and much, much, much more. He writes energetically, with a nice descriptive flair ("carbon dioxide is the gaseous equivalent of urine"). Hugely informative and remarkably entertaining. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"Berman uses science to unravel some of the conundrums we face every day . . . His style is witty, and his presentation is thoughtful." —Science News



Book Description
"Touches on a dizzying array of subjects, including UV rays, inert gases, fossils, meteorites, microwaves, rainbows . . . Like many a good teacher, Berman uses humor to entertain his audience and liven things up." —Los Angeles Times

Bob Berman is motivated by a straightforward philosophy: everyone can understand science—and it's fun, too. In Strange Universe, he pokes into the bizarre and astonishingly true scientific facts that determine the world around us.

Geared to the nonscientist, Berman's original essays are filled with the trademark wit and cleverness that has earned him acclaim over many years for his columns in Astronomy and Discover magazines. He emphasizes curiosities of the natural world to which everyone can relate, and dishes on the little-known secrets about space and some of science's biggest blunders (including a very embarrassing moment from Buzz Aldrin's trip to the moon).

Fascinating to anyone interested in the wonders of our world and the cosmos beyond, Strange Universe will make you smile and think.



About the Author
Bob Berman writes the Strange Universe column in Astronomy magazine. His previous titles on astronomy include Cosmic Adventure: A Renegade Astronomer's Guide to Our World and Beyond and Secrets of the Night Sky: The Most Amazing Things in the Universe You Can See with the Naked Eye. He lives near Woodstock, New York.

FROM THE PUBLISHER