|
Book Review: A Briefer History of Time: From the Big Bang to the Big Mac Eric Schulman W. H. Freeman Press 171 pp; USD$14.95 Reviewed by Carolyn DeCusatis Can you summarize the history of the Universe in 100 words or less? Eric Schulman does in his Science/Humor Book, A Briefer History of Time. And for each of these very important words he has written something funny. Most of them manage to teach something about science or history, too. This is a good book to read in short bursts, when you a want a quick pick-me-up break from work. Parodies that worked best for me were the section on Stellar Evolution where an army sergeant chews out his "stellar recruits", a game show where famous generals compete for world domination, and a song about the creation of the World Wide Web to the tune of theme from the Beverly Hillbillies. Surprisingly enough, another favorite of mine was the Glossary-you have to be paying attention, but he tosses in among the serious definitions bits like biographies of Eisenhower which include his presidency of Columbia University, but not the United States of America, and of Brezhnev which discusses in detail his college engineering thesis. (Check out his definition of copulation.) Most of the humor is based on parodying pop culture, rather than on incorrect science or history, so it is usually obvious what is fact and what is humor. I don't think the reader needs any real scientific background to enjoy this book, but it wouldn't hurt to have some general concepts to really appreciate the science in the parodies. For science fiction and science fans alike, A Briefer History of Time turns the last 15 billion years into an irreverent half-hour read. Eric Schulman's homepage is here and he discusses his book here You can buy this book from Amazon.com Amazon.com Altair Publishing Australia http://www.sfsite.com/altair/ SUBSCRIBE TODAY US$34.00/Aust$36.00 PO Box 475, Blackwood. SA 5051. Australia END
|