Aiming to combine the breadth of a reference book for example, a dictionary of science with the accessibility and sense of fun that you get from a piece of popular science, author Parsons organizes this work into 10 broad sections representing the major divisions of science. These sections are further divided into subsections, each containing on average 12 brief entries. The topics have been chosen with the lay reader in mind, and that reader will have a passing familiarity with most of the terms, if not their meanings. Rather than being arranged alphabetically, the entries are ordered to provide continuity. Someone who is puzzled by the differences between Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic, for example, will find readable explanations laid out in a logical sequence in the subsection for Ages of Earth. The book's final section considers the future, with entries for Cloning extinct species, Weather control, Nanomedicine, and more.
- Mary Ellen Quinn Booklist 2010 12 15
Designed with the general reader and students in mind, this volume provides clear and concise explanations of scientific concepts. It uses the simplest, jargon-free language possible to clarify such concepts as black holes, cloning therapy, and even time travel. Covering 1001 scientific topics, the work covers such subjects as physics, chemistry, biology, Earth science, space and astronomy, applied science, and computer technology. It is a concise, general work that can be used for browsing or for looking up specific topics in both high school and public libraries.
- Melinda F. Matthews American Reference Books Annual 2010 2011 03 01
