Customer Reviews

Everyday Wonders: Encounters With the Astonishing World Around Us

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What I like about this book is that the author has transformed such commonplace concepts as gravity, water, & breath into fun-to-read adventures. In 21 essays, each full of anecdotes & illustrations, the author explains remarkable everyday phenomena in simple, clear language. There are also interviews with some of the world's most brilliant scientists - Linus Pauling, Stephen Jay Gould, Edward Teller, Francis Crick - & dozens of mind boggling puzzles as well as insightful quotations.

What is the principal object of the author in creating all of the above?

In a nutshell, the author is just showing to all of us: how to be more aware of our own surroundings & how to play with our childhood sense of wonder. In the author's own words: This book is about the present, because it's about awareness: noticing, stopping, looking, heeding, remarking, observing, beholding, discerning, perceiving, asking, examining, probing, considering, pondering, weighing, appraising, studying...right now.

Over the years, I have come across only a handful of such unique books as continuation of my relentless search for better understanding of perceptual sensitivity & sensory acuity. I must say this one is one of the best books in the genre, because it is entertaining, stimulating and instructive! In fact, it has inspired me to create valuable learning experiences for participants in my creativity workshops.

Do you have the time to go and play? Come play with your childhood sense of wonder. Prepare to be astonished, to learn with this wonderful book!

There are two other good books that I would recommend to readers, in conjunction with this one:

- The Sense of Wonder, by Rachel Carson;
- Playful Perception: Choosing How to Experience Your World, by Herbert Leff;

Originally purchased for Physics 101 but actually enjoyed reading. Author incorporates physics & philosophy into everyday examples. A bood book that makes you think and helps you to understand.