Library Journal - Audio
06/01/2022
Geneticist Rutherford (The Book of Humans) and mathematician Fry (Hello World) tackle all the world's questions and delve into the secrets of the universe in this brief, but utterly captivating book. Rutherford and Fry begin their daunting task by asking simple, even silly, questions—Does my dog love me? What does an alien look like? What time is it…really? These questions end up revealing tremendous and unexpected truths, many of which point to the fact that our instincts, intuition, and assumptions are entirely fallible. As it turns out, reality is not as it seems, but this book will help put listeners on track to targeting misguided beliefs and understanding the world as it really is. The authors, cohosts of the BBC Radio 4 podcast The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry, joyfully narrate their own book. Their camaraderie, easy banter, and obvious delight in their subject make for a truly outstanding audio. VERDICT This engaging and thought-provoking book will have broad appeal and is highly recommended for all nonfiction collections. Share with podcast listeners and fans of Neil deGrasse Tyson and Bill Nye.—Sarah Hashimoto
MARCH 2022 - AudioFile
British radio personalities Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry share duties equally in this brisk and irreverent explanation of “nearly everything” in math and science—which turns out to be quite a lot. The pair’s accents and approach may take some getting used to, as their style has a distinct echo of the British music hall. But they are masters of the back-and-forth, and their very listenable segments are also enlightening and painlessly instructional. The focus is on human perception—for instance, the performance of the human eye and how it— and we—process events around us. Easy to follow but factually reliable, this instruction is a bit tart and refreshingly light. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
MARCH 2022 - AudioFile
British radio personalities Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry share duties equally in this brisk and irreverent explanation of “nearly everything” in math and science—which turns out to be quite a lot. The pair’s accents and approach may take some getting used to, as their style has a distinct echo of the British music hall. But they are masters of the back-and-forth, and their very listenable segments are also enlightening and painlessly instructional. The focus is on human perception—for instance, the performance of the human eye and how it— and we—process events around us. Easy to follow but factually reliable, this instruction is a bit tart and refreshingly light. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
