Customer Reviews

Curious Folks Ask 2: Our Fellow Creatures, Our Planet, and Beyond (FT Press Science)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a curious person and I always like a book filled with trivia or giving me knowledge of a little of this and a little of that on any given subject. I really wanted to review this book and gain some insight; I was not disappointed.
Our author, Sherry Seethaler does a bang-up job in both education and entertainment in this work. She answers questions such as:

If black holes gobble everything in their surroundings, wouldn't the whole universe end up in one big black hole?

Do ants breathe? If so, what happens to them when it rains? Do they drown? Do their breathing apparatus get flooded, killing them?

And I LOVED this one: I found a dead fly in my refrigerator(days unknown) and throw it in the sink. A few minutes later, it flew away. How is this possible? Can a fly live in the refrigerator? How long do flies live?

The answer to these and so many other questions will amaze you. They are given in a very knowledgeable way, but not long and drawn out where it becomes a chore to read them. That was a plus. I devoured this book in one evening and I am spouting off to others what I have learned. Hum ----- a book that gives me ammunition to act a little smarter than I am.....that's pretty good. I have gone back to this read numerous times just for the refreshing of the facts.

This is a great book. You learn so much without being bogged down reading what is not important to the question. Written in an easy to understand way you are sure to leave this read with satisfaction that indeed you have fed your mind and enjoyed the meal. Very well done.

This volume has snippets of information and interesting facts divided into 8 chapters on:

1)Creepy Crawlies
2)Amazing Animals
3)Vitally Vegetal
4)Funky Phenomena
5)Environmental Effects
6)Home Planet
7)The Heavens
8)Far Out

Recommended for those that like to read in easily digestible chunks, trivia maniacs, know-it-alls and those that are curious and like to read about anything and everything. This would also be a great book for kids in the "Why?-stage" and those that don't read except for on the toilet. Each topic is long enough to be informative but not long enough to encourage toilet-reading-associated health risks.

Compared to other books in this category, this is organized in medium length paragraphs (that go into a bit more detail than usual) one after another under each chapter rather than each subject per page.

This book is written in a Q and A format, where an interesting question is asked that most people probably have wondered about and then it is answered in a clear concise way.

I also got Curious Folks Ask volume 1 and I really enjoyed that one. The questions were interesting and in many cases ones I had wondered about myself.

This volume two follows the same format as volume one, there is a question and then the answer follows. I didn't find this volume's questions as interesting as the first edition... for instance "Why do clothes get darker when they get wet?" I know there is an explanation but I just didn't really care. There seemed to be more questions in this book that didn't really catch my interest. But enough did that I was able to get through the book. I liked the funky phenomenon portion a great deal.

That is merely an opinion based on my interests. It could be that some people will like volume 2 better than 1. Probably no way to tell until you read both.

This book was really interesting. As an animal and nature lover, it was really fascinating to learn so many interesting facts about our planet and the creatures in it. It was hard to put this book down as there were so many interesting facts that were amazing to read about. I surprised my husband the other day when we heard some crickets chirping and I told him to count the number of chirps in 14 seconds and add 40 to that number to get the temperature ; you never know when the information is going to come in handy. I highly recommend this book to anyone eager to learn in a fun and simple way.

This 203 page highly interesting little book from 2011 contains 188 extremely well-researched Questions and Answers. There are 8 chapters, and I have included a question from each chapter below so you can get a "feel" for the book.

Our author is currently an educator at the University of California, San Diego. (I love San Diego!) Her extensive education includes chemistry and bio chemistry, biology, science and math from major universities, including the University of California at Berkley and Yale. She also writes a weekly column for the San Diego Union-Tribune, where she answers a wide array of questions on practically every science topic. Sherry also has a wonderfully dry sense of humor which is woven throughout the book.

This book does not have to be read in a linear fashion. You can lay it on the coffee table, pick it up, and flip around. Just pick a page and have fun. This book is also a nice size travel book (9" X 6" and ½" thick). It will fit easily into a purse, travel bag, or man bag and should keep you entertained on a flight from the east coast to San Diego.

Ok. Ok. Ok. I promised you the chapters and a question from each. But to get the answers, you need to buy the book. BTW--you will likely be surprised at the amount of detail in the answers. Sherry tries to give you a very complete answer. She goes well beyond just answering the question but seeks to fully explain so you really understand.

Here ya go:

Chapter 1 - Creepy Crawlies
"How do monarch butterflies migrate and navigate such distances?"

Chapter 2 - Amazing Animals
"Why do lizards do "pushups" while sunning themselves?"

Chapter 3 - Vitally Vegetal
"What is the significance of a mold's color?"

Chapter 4 - Funky Phenomena
"I know that granite can emit radiation, which has concerned some people who have granite countertops in their homes. Do the semi-precious stones used for jewelry also emit some radiation?"

Chapter 5 - Environmental Effects
"Is there a chance that there will be another ice age?"

Chapter 6 - Home Planet
"At what speed from the epicenter does the wave of an earthquake travel?"

Chapter 7 - The Heavens
"Why is the inner sky of a rainbow lighter in color than the sky above the rainbow?"

Chapter 8 - Far Out .
Is it true that a large asteroid is headed toward Earth within the next 5 years? (Long question paraphrased)

BTW--this book might also be a nice gift for somebody stuck somewhere, like sick and in bed for awhile, recovering from an extended illness, or in rehab learning how to work their muscles again. It will give them something interesting to talk with other folks about.

This book is a nice compilation of random questions and answers. The answers are well researched but explained in a way that is surprisingly interesting instead of a dull textbook style. I have learned a lot of random facts from this book about topics ranging from spiders to astrophysics.

In the 70's my grandmother purchased TELL ME WHY books for my birthday and I loved them. I looked for them now that I am grown up, and they are out of print and no one has heard of them. It explained why the sky was blue while the sunset pink, how a tornado forms and so on. This seems to be a similar book for adults. It answers many questions you may have had and supports the answers with sources. If you want to know how Tornados form or when we got out last ocean, this is the book for you or the curious younster in your life. The writing is interesting and the explinations not overly scientific. I loved this book and now must get volume 1.

Lots of interesting tidbits (nothing deep or extensive) in this book. If you are an information junkie or just wildly curious, this book is for you. There are questions and answers about elephants, the Earth, tornedoes and more. You will feel gratified by the answers and possibly will want to explore further.

The negatives are: the print is too small; the book could benefit from some photos; the voice is not especially lively, nor does the mind behind the book appear to have much of a sense of humor; this is not a book children will enjoy; occasionally the questions are boring, as in, "Why do fabric and other items get darker when (clear) water is applied?"

On the other hand there are plenty of interesting questions, such as "Do spiders dream?" And, "Would Earth be different without the moon?" It's for sure this book holds something you will find interesting.

Curious Folk = My kids. Where do they find so many questions? And how are they always questions I cannot answer?

This book is a great addition to my homeschool resource shelf. When I cannot catch my 8-year-old's attention with his daily work, I can always grab his attention with some "cool" trivia, and this book is chock full of that.

I've always loved these "Random Questions Answered" type of books. Curious Folks Ask 2 is a fun book for any inquisitive individual to read. It puts real questions asked by people and answers it in detail, but not so much detail that you'd get bored. This book is great for people who really wonder why you never see bees out at night, or quick responses on how a tv remote works. This book includes a chapter on insects and other creepy crawlers, animals, plant life, strange phenomena, environmental effects, plant Earth, the Earth's atmosphere, and space. While the answers are detailed, none are so complicated that you'd get confused. Recommended.