This book was written for teens, but if you enjoyed Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, you might still find this book really interesting.

This is a paperback ARC of the book, which has just been released in hardcover.

From the back cover:
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is renowned for its mystery and magic. What’s the truth behind it all? Is the golden compass actually based in science? How does the subtle knife cut through anything? Could there be a bomb like the one made with Lyra’s hair? How do the Gallivespians’ lodestone resonators really work? And, of course, what are the Dark Materials? Drawing on string theory and spacetime, quantum physics and chaos theory, award-winning science writers Mary and John Gribbin reveal the real science behind Philip Pullman’s bestselling fantasy trilogy in entertaining and crystal-clear prose.

Bookring Order:

1. jennifer671
2. wyldewomin
3. mikopikotrain
4. GrannyAnn
5. lyraness
...then home to tnkbl

Remember:
1. make a journal entry when you recieve the book
2. PM the next person on the list a few days before you are ready to mail, to get their address
3. make a journal entry when you're finished to let everyone know what you thought and that the book is on its way to the next person

Received today and am ready to get started! LOL Looks interesting.

RELEASE NOTES:

Going to wyldewomin as tnkbl's bookring.

RELEASE NOTES:

Bookring hosted by tnkbl.

I am so sorry! I was new when I posted this and I did it wrong! This book was mailed out on 9/23/05 and mailed to wyldewomin. Sorry for confusion. Bear with me, I'm trying to catch on to how to post what and when! LOL

Got it!!

Quite interesting. Now that it's out in bookstores and I have my educator discount I think I will snag a copy for my frosh science class.
Thanks.

RELEASE NOTES:

Off to Miko

The book arrived today! I'm looking forward to reading it!

I thought this was a nice book to excite and introduce teens to the more complex ideas in the physical sciences. The Gribbins did a good job of simplifying and explaining without too much danger of creating misconceptions. I was pleasantly surprised that they addressed a broad range of scientific concepts from natural selection to string theory! There were a few points that I felt were overly simplified (ex: "ions" as positive charges in opposition to negatively-charged electrons) and sometimes explanations teetered towards meaninglessly-vague. However, I think they deserve praise for deciding to NOT dismiss these concepts as too complex for young readers and then finding a way to describe them in a style that remains engaing for teens.

It would be nice if the authors considered writing a more in-depth book for adults since I know that Pullman's trilogy also has a strong following of adult fans that would appreicate a more rigorous exploration of the science.

RELEASE NOTES:

I just got back from the post office. The book is on its way to GrannyAnn!

Received this in the mail today. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Interesting discussion of the science behind His Dark Materials. Written for teens but also useful for adults.

Mailed via media mail to lyraness

I got this in the mail today, I'll try and start reading it ASAP.

I finished this in one sitting this morning during one of my usual Sunday reading binges. I found it to be quick, interesting read. I would have enjoyed it more if the theories had been further elaborated upon, since I knew the basics of most of them already. Nonetheless, I found it to be an interesting supplement to the His Dark Materials series.

I'll send this book back home as soon as I get the address.

It's home! Thanks everyone for participating in this successful bookring! Now... what next?