Books

Learning in Full Colour with the All New Idiot’s Guides!

When I was asked to review a couple of books from the newly revamped Idiot’s Guides line, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had a vague memory of flipping through one of the old Complete Idiot’s Guides a few years ago and thinking it looked like a technical manual with large blocks of text and black and white diagrams.

I’ve always been interested in science and astronomy though, so I picked these two softcover books for review: Idiot’s Guides: The Cosmos and Idiot’s Guides: Science Mysteries Explained. When I opened them up for the first time and took a look at the glossy, full-colour pages and engaging text, I was both surprised and impressed by the upgrade!

Idiot’s Guides: The Cosmos

Idiot’s Guides: The Cosmos is a fascinating and easy-to-understand exploration of the universe. Dozens of stunning, full-color photos highlight the latest discoveries and beauty of space, including the solar system, the Sun, the asteroid belt, the Milky Way, various star types, black holes, and more.”

The Cosmos

This book is a great introductory guide to astronomy and cosmology offering a broad overview of what we know about the Sun, Earth, and Moon; other planets and moons in the solar system; the life cycle of stars; the Milky Way; galaxies; and the origin and fate of the universe. Deep stuff, especially the last chapter delving into the big questions about spacetime, matter and antimatter, and different theories of how our universe was formed.

The pictures included are beautiful, but given the subject matter, I do wish there had been more and larger photos. These stunning pictures of stars, galaxies, and spacescapes deserve to be seen full-size across the whole page.

Idiot’s Guides: Science Mysteries Explained

“Ideal for the armchair science enthusiast, Idiot’s Guides: Science Mysteries Explained takes a question/answer-based approach to teach readers a wide variety of topics in Earth Science, Life Science, Chemistry, Physics, and Cosmology. Using helpful full-color illustrations and expert information, this book features 130 fascinating questions and answers to satisfy any scientist wannabe.”

Science Mysteries Explained

I love how user-friendly this Idiot’s Guide is. Colour-coded pages let you see which subject you’re reading about at a glance. Each of the 130 questions in this book spans a two-page spread. The question and its quick answer are listed at the top, and the rest of the spread elaborates on the answer and gives more detail through engaging text, photos, and graphics.

  • Ever wondered if the north and south poles could switch locations? Absolutely. It’s happened multiple times already in the Earth’s history!
  • Or how much of the universe you can see with the naked eye? About 3000 stars, give or take.
  • Is the speed of light is the same everywhere? No. Anything other than a vacuum will slow light down. In fact, travelling through water slows light by about 35%.

This is a very readable resource guide, chock full of fascinating information and little-known facts. Any curious mind will enjoy this book!

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Be sure to visit the Idiot’s Guides Boutique and get 30% off all guides for a limited time! From baking to bike repair, digital photography to dog training, or weight training to wine, there’s something here for anyone looking to learn something new!

Disclosure: I received sample items for review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ. This post contains affiliate links. This West Coast Mommy is a participant in the Amazon.com.ca, Inc. Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.ca.

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2 Comments

  • Great series of books! I know my guys would definitely enjoy reading them, especially the Science mysteries Explained book.

  • I haven’t seen one of these books since I was younger. I’m amazed at how far they’ve come in improving their series!