Hello, Families! Miss Julie here to bring you news of an exciting new trio of books that just arrived from the Mysteries of Space series. These books are perfect for the child that is fascinated by space science and needs something that digs deeper than the usual kid’s fare but isn’t as heavy as a science book from the adult section of the library. A very precocious fourth-grader may enjoy these, but I would expect these to be most appreciated by children in fifth grade and beyond. If you are an adult who is interested in brushing up on some current science topics, then you might also be interested in these approachable, well-written books.
First up, we have Antimatter Explained by Richard Gaughan. Any book that starts out with a Star Trek reference is a winner in my book, and add to that the discussion in chapter one about the difference between ignorance and intelligence as it pertains to our ancestors and the pursuit of knowledge, and you have a book that quickly gets to the heart of what science is all about. If you are worried that you won’t understand the book, never fear. The book gives a good overview of atoms and energy levels before it even introduces antimatter in the middle of chapter four. This book is well worth the read for anyone who would like to know more about this mysterious topic.
Next, we have Dark Energy Explained by Gina Hagler. Though this book is written at a slightly higher level than the first one, it still does a very good job of setting up the science leading up to what we now call “dark energy”, and then the book spends a great deal of time talking about where we see this phenomenon in nature. Since dark energy really is a hot topic in physics right now, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in space science.
Finally, we have another book by Richard Gaughan entitled, Gravitational Waves Explained, and I must admit, between the two authors, I prefer Mr. Gaughan’s writing. He once again does a very good job of making a tough topic approachable, and I love his liberal use of creative analogies to get his points across. All three books are formulaic in the sense that they give you an introduction to the topic, explain the history of the topic and the relevant science that lead to its discovery, and then the rest of the book is spent explaining why the topic is important; however, this is a formula that works, because once again, this book is a great read for anyone who wants to know more about the current understanding of gravity.
So which one will you start with? Or maybe you’ll spend a weekend reading all three? If you do read them, feel free to drop us a line and let us know what you think!