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Science Matters

Achieving Scientific Literacy

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Science Matters

By: Robert M. Hazen, James Trefil
Narrated by: Fred Sanders
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About this listen

A science book for the general reader that is informative enough to be a popular textbook and yet well-written enough to appeal to general listeners. “Hazen and Trefil [are] unpretentious—good, down-to-earth, we-can-explain-anything science teachers, the kind you wish you had but never did.”—The New York Times Book Review

Knowledge of the basic ideas and principles of science is fundamental to cultural literacy. But most books on science are often too obscure or too specialized to do the general listener much good.

Science Matters is a rare exception—a science book that is informative enough for introductory courses in high school and college, and yet lucid enough for listeners uncomfortable with scientific jargon and complicated mathematics. And now, revised and expanded, it is up-to-date, so that listeners can enjoy Hazen and Trefil's refreshingly accessible explanations of the most recent developments in science, from particle physics to biotechnology.

©2009 James Trefil and Robert M. Hazen (P)2009 Random House
Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Biological Sciences Education Physics Science Genetics Black Hole String Theory

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Critic reviews

“Lucid and lively. Hazen and Trefil have a particular genius for picturing even formidably abstract ideas in concrete images. . . . Science Matters is as good as they get” ––The Washington Post Book World

“Hazen and Trefil [are] unpretentious––good, down-to-earth, we-can-explain-anything science teachers, the kind you wish you had but never did.” ––The New York Times

“A book that even scientifically literate readers can consult . . . if they find their recollection of relativity or quantum mechanics getting shaky.” ––New Scientist

What listeners say about Science Matters

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    4 out of 5 stars

Good book for understanding general science.

Got this book as I am interested in some areas of Science but did not feel my school education had left me with a good base on which to build on. I would often be reading about a subject and then a concept would be thrown in to which I was not familiar. Funnily enough the book introduction talks about how some experts in one field of science can often be near clueless on subjects outside their own field of study! So it seems I'm not the only one!

The book is reasonably easy to follow and explains everything you'd need to know to get by in reading most scientific articles.

The only minor criticism I have with it is that it frequently uses imperial measurements, which is something that I feel should be avoided. The reason they have done this is that the book is targeted towards an American audience who will be more familiar with imperial measures.

The above aside I would recommend this to anyone looking to brush up on their knowledge of science in general.

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13 people found this helpful