Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2007
304 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
The Canon is a joyride through the major scientific disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and astronomy. It’s vital reading for anyone who wants to understand the great issues of our time—from stem cells and bird flu to evolution and global warming. It’s also one of those rare books that reignites our childhood delight in figuring out how things work: we learn what’s actually happening when our ice cream melts or our coffee gets cold, what our liver cells do when we eat a caramel, how the horse shows evolution at work, and that we really are all made of stardust. It’s Lewis Carroll meets Lewis Thomas—a book that will enrapture, inspire, and enlighten.
"This is a pleasurable and nonthreatening guide for anyone baffled by science." - PW.
"The style is so lively that the more serious goal of fostering public science literacy is easily reached." - Library Journal.
"Not everything is as easy as pie (or pi) to grasp, and therein lies the excitement and challenge of science, masterfully conveyed here. " - Kirkus.
This information about The Canon was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
The Canon was immediately grabbed from the book pile by our scientifically-minded in house reviewer, but the report is that, although Angier covers some interesting material, her writing style is a little hard-going - using unnecessarily complicated language when a simpler style would have better served her purposes.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
