The Secret House: 24 Hours in the Strange and Unexpected World in Which We Spend Our Days and Nights [Hardcover]

David Bodanis (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 223 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067160032X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671600327
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling and comprehensive overview of the minutiae, June 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret House: 24 Hours in the Strange and Unexpected World in Which We Spend Our Days and Nights (Hardcover)

Author David Bodanis shares with the reader through easy to comprehend prose and compelling electron microscopic slides the world of an average couple through a complete day cycle. Topics range from the examination of the very small (dust mites), the complex (how do things work?), the ordinary (what exactly *is* in toothpaste?) and the obscure (slime molds). A thoroughly enjoyable and informative read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating book, not for the squeamish, July 6, 2005

By 

Elizabeth A. Root (Laurel, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret House: 24 Hours in the Strange and Unexpected World in Which We Spend Our Days and Nights (Hardcover)

I don't think that I will recommend this to someone I know who already washes his hands twice before dinner, but if the omnipresence of microbes doesn't freak you out, this is a fascinating book.

This covers the minutiae of daily life, the slight shakings of the entire house when one walks across the floor, the dust mites, the drift of particles around the world, the rain of particles from outer space.

Bodanis also reviews the ingredients and creation of common items: potato chips, toothpaste, lipstick, deoderant, cake mixes, explaining not only how they work, but how much of the processing is purely advertising hype.

The book includes some fantastic special slow-motion, electron-microscope and heat-sensitive photographs. Be sure to get an edition of the book that includes them; I believe that some editions don't.

One of the most enlightening and educational books that I have ever read!

5.0 out of 5 stars Wanna feel uncomfortable in your own house?, July 17, 2009

By 

Diana L. Mercer "Diana Mercer, co-author Your... (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret House: 24 Hours in the Strange and Unexpected World in Which We Spend Our Days and Nights (Hardcover)

This book features extraordinary photos of everyday items you and I take for granted. Items covered in bacteria,dust mites. microbes,mold and a host of other things that the squeamish will find downright disturbing.

It's a great book to pull out in a party, Will weed out the timid in no time flat.

Diana Mercer is the co-author of Your Divorce Advisor and her company is [...]