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BOOK: What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
AUTHOR: Randall Munroe
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2014
REVIEW:
This book is exactly what it says it is. If you’ve ever wondered how close you would have to be to a supernova to get a lethal dose of neutrino radiation, or what would happen if lightening stuck a bullet in midair, or, if every human being somehow disappeared from the Earth, how long the artificial light would last…this book is for you. You will get a detailed, erudite, delightfully nerdy answer to these and many more questions. If this sounds appealing and you are not yet familiar with Randall Munroe’s webcomic xkcd, and his particular blend of science and entertainment, you are in for both a treat and a learning experience.
If you think the entire premise of this book is absolutely ludicrous, and a waste of your time, you are most likely correct on both points. (But you may wish to buy a copy, for that smart friend of yours with the sense of humor you have never quite figured out.)
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RATING (one to five whistles, with five being the best): Splitting the difference – 3 Whistles
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HOW TO PURCHASE: Amazon
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Blue Highways, William Least Heat-Moon
Bonjour Tristesse, Francoise Sagan
Cockpit Confidential, Patrick Smith
Envious Casca, Georgette Heyer
Gaudy Night, Dorothy L. Sayers
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, Helen Simonson
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
The Cuckoo’s Calling, Robert Galbraith
The Dancer of Izu, Kawabata Yasunari
The Love Affairs Of Nathaniel P., Adelle Waldman
The Monogram Murders, Sophie Hannah
The Mother & Child Project, Hope Through Healing Hands (ed.)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce
The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories, Saki
The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
Up At The Villa, W. Somerset Maugham
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Lead-In Image Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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Laura LaVelle is an attorney and writer who lives in Connecticut, in a not quite 100-year-old house, along with her husband, two daughters, and a cockatiel.
Laura can be contacted at laura@newswhistle.com
