The Curious World of Science: Simon Flynn ****

Simon Flynn, whose career has transitioned from book publisher to science teacher, is surely ideally placed to put together what feels (surely intentionally) a little like a science book equivalent of one of those Victorian cabinets of curiosities.

This chunky volume consists of a set of short, illustrated articles covering a very wide range of science and maths topics. One moment we're reading about the classic Monty Hall problem, then perusing Darwin's infamous list of pros and cons for getting married. Some of the historical detail is delightful - I was really interested, for instance, in the time when Leicester Square was home of scientific entertainment - first Lever's museum of 'Natural and other Curiosities' and then the amazing Royal Panopticon of Science and Art which featured a 100 foot fountain in its foyer - it looks incredible and it's so sad it soon disappeared.

This book is a supercharged version of Flynn's 2012 The Science Magpie - while probably not worth getting if you already have the original, the added visuals really increase the 'curiosities' impact of the book, with one proviso: the graphic designer was given too much leeway. Some articles - the one on Frankenstein and the reanimating power of electricity, for example - are in small white font on a black background. I found this a real struggle to read, particularly when there was italic text.

As I mentioned in my original review, not every article can thrill, and although it's interesting to see things like a translation of Galileo's confession or a period American newspaper report of a visit to Albert Einstein in Germany, it doesn't necessarily make exciting reading. But then you turn the page and something engaging burst into sight. Flynn makes quite a lot of use of science-based poetry, which I suspect will be an approach some readers love and others find tedious. Generally, the science content is solid, though it was a little odd to find an article on earthquake magnitudes using the Richter scale, pretty much abandoned by scientists ages ago - it's a bit like the book quoting energy in foot-poundals.

Overall, this is a book you can either dip into, in loo book style, or peruse as lightweight reading - ideal for a holiday title. There's nothing too challenging - but you will find material here that's surprising, fascinating and fun.

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Review by Brian Clegg - See all of Brian's online articles or subscribe to a weekly digest for free here

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