Ben Miller’s pop science book starts with an appreciation of a former teacher who sparked his love of science. It’s quite possible that in twenty years time Ben Miller will get to see his own name credited as a source of inspiration in someone else’s book. Miller has written a book of Science’s Greatest Hits. It’s not comprehensive. It’s not coherent. The only unifying theme to the various chapters is that the science must be interesting.

And it is.

As a former physicist it’s no surprise that Physics and Astronomy make up a big chunk of the book. After the introduction, the book talks about particle physics and then astronomy and cosmology. The last chapter is about space travel. In between he also tackles human evolution, DNA, Global Warming and the chemistry of baking. However unlike a few physicists Miller is just as likeable and engaging when talking about other subjects as he is when talking about physics.

It’s the likeability that holds what could be a pedestrian book together. The fact is anyone could write a Greatest Hits book, but to make it work the text has to be engaging. Ben Miller has this down perfectly, so that while the chapters may leap from DNA to Global Warming there’s a continuity with the person guiding you. The cost to this is that the book is a little shallow. Miller is quite open about his aims, this is science as entertainment than education, but you get the feeling that if he inspires you to pick up another book on a subject then he’ll be satisfied that his writing works.

For this reason it’s a good book to get from the library, but I’m not sure how many people deeply into science would want to buy it. On the other hand if my nephews, nieces and godlesssons* were old enough to be able to read, I’d not hesitate in buying them a copy.

There are other reviews at SFcrowsnest and Science Teaching Library as well as GoodReads below.

*If you’re an atheist you can’t be a godfather, so the closest you can be is a godlessfather, which makes the child a godlessson.