|summary=You may well remember when the sticking of a number '2' after a film title was suggesting something of prestige - that the first film had been so good it was fully justified to have something more. That has hardly been proven correct, but it has until recently almost been confined to the cinema - you barely got a TV series worthy of a numbered sequel, and never in the world of non-fiction. If someone has made a nature series about, say, Alaska (and boy aren't there are a lot of those these days) and wants to make another, why she just makes another - nothing would justify the numeral. But some nature programmes do have the prestige, the energy and the heft to demand follow-ups. And after five years in the making, the BBC's Blue Planet series has delivered a second helping.
}}
{{Frontpage|classisbn=1783099593|title=Speaking Up|author=Allyson Jule|rating=4|genre=Popular Science|summary='Speaking Up' has a fascinating subject matter - how language reflects and shapes our notions of gender. It looks at our use of language in media, education, religion, the workplace and personal relationships. Author Allyson Jule calls on an encyclopedic body of research from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Reading it, we feel that she has studied everything that has ever been said on gendered linguistics; she references Foucault and the Kardashians with equal rigour.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Campbell_Astra|title=Ad Astra: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet|author=Dallas Campbell|rating=5|genre=Popular Science|summary=So… you want to leave the planet? Before you do you'd better study the whole history of human space flight to get up to speed. That could take a while… if only there was a handy guide that could condense it all down for you. Enter Dallas Campbell with this book: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Adrian_Sock|title=Sock (Object Lessons)|author=Kim Adrian|rating=3.5|genre=Popular Science|summary=The subject of this book has been around for several millennia, and yet my partner's daughter has been employed for several years designing it, or them. It's something I use for about 200 days of every year, at a guess (well, I have my self-diagnosed over-active eccrine glands and other people to think about) – which clearly puts me at the opposite end of the scale to well-"wikitable" cellpaddingknown mass-murderer of women, Ted Bundy, who was into stealing credit cards to fund his desire of having a fresh pair every single day. On which subject, the amount of them we create every year could stack to the freaking moon and more. Some idiots buy more than six pairs a year, apparently, which is plain stupid. I'm talking, as you can tell, of the humble sock.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Germano_Eye|title=Eye Chart (Object Lessons)|author=William Germano|rating=4.5|genre=Popular Science|summary=It's happened to me, and like as not it has or will happen to you, too. I mean the receipt of certain little numerical results, with a positive or negative before them to prove the correction needed to my vision to make me see with the intended clarity and normality. I've had that gizmo that photos the back of my eye to check for diabetes and other problems, I've had different tests to check the pressure inside my eye, and I've come away with glasses I don't need to wear all the time, but certainly benefit from on holiday, or when watching TV or a cinema or theatre production. And above and beyond that I've stared at – and got wrong – the simple, seemingly ageless test, of various letters in various configurations that diminish in size, to prove to the relevant scientist at what stage things get blurry for me. Of course, it's not ageless, but the scientific progress that led to it, the changes other people made to it, and the cultural impact it's had are all on these eye-opening small pages.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Ball_Wonders|title=Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical|author=Johnny Ball|rating=5|genre=Popular Science|summary="15" <Like many people of a ''certain age,'' I have fond memories of tuning in to watch Johnny Ball enthusiastically extolling the virtues of maths and science; succeeding where our schoolteachers had failed and actually making these subjects ''fun.'' Although decades have passed since those classic TV shows, his latest book proves that he has lost none of his passion and enthusiasm for his subject.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Yong_Contain|title=I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life|author=Ed Yong|rating=5|genre=Popular Science|summary=The world you know is a lie. There is no such thing as good or bad microbes. Sickness and health are all far more complex than we thought. Things designed to save us may kill us and things we think would kill us may save us. Welcome to the modern study of microbes.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Beattie_Stupendous|title=Stupendous Science|author=Rob Beattie and Sam Peet|rating=5|genre=Popular Science|summary=Education should be fun. We learn best when we are engaged with practical, enjoyable tasks. That's the secret behind the experiments in Stupendous Science. They have the fun element, the 'wow factor,' and most importantly, can be easily replicated with items that are readily available in the home. Each experiment teaches an important scientific concept; essentially teaching through play.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Sarcone_Optical|title=Optical Illusions|author=Gianni Sarcone and Marie Jo Waeber|rating=5|genre=Popular Science|summary=I used to work as a library assistant and I remember arriving to work one morning to find all of my fellow librarians crowded around a book, chattering excitedly and...squinting rather oddly. The book was called ''Magic Eye'' and promised a magical 3D viewing experience if you looked at the psychedelic pictures in a certain way. For a brief period in the early 90s, the pictures had a sudden spike in popularity, until everyone presumably got eye strain and went back to their everyday lives. Well, good news Magic Eye fans!The pictures are back (albeit only two images), in the engrossing and immersive new book ''Optical Illusions.''}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Alliston_Build|title=Build It! 25 Creative STEM Projects for Budding Engineers|author=Caroline Alliston|rating=4|genre=Popular Science|summary=''Build It! 25 Creative STEM Projects for Budding Engineers'' takes a strictly hands-on approach to science to show how scientific ideas can be applied to real- INSERT NEW REVIEWS BELOW HEREworld situations. The book contains 25 projects with varying degrees of complexity to demonstrate topics such as air travel, programmable machines, light, motion and electricity. The book is designed with the younger scientist in mind, so there is a focus on the fun aspect, with many of the projects involving toys.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Jopson_Science|title=The Science of Food: An exploration of what we eat and how we cook|author=Marty Jopson|rating=4|genre=Popular Science|summary=I've always believed that if you understood ''why'' something worked in a particular way it was very easy to remember ''how'' it worked and what you needed to do. The food we eat is no exception to this rule and ''The One Show'' resident scientist Marty Jopson has undertaken to explain how things work in the kitchen -->and he covers everything from the type of knives we use through to the food of the future. Best of all, he does it in language that even a science illiterate like me can understand.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Browne_Many|title=The Many Faces of Coincidence|author=Laurence Browne|rating=3.5|genre=Popular Science|summary=Browne does not mislead with this choice of title; he does without a doubt explore the many faces of coincidence.}}{{Frontpage|isbn=Dittrich_Patient|title=Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness and Family Secrets|author=Luke Dittrich|rating=4.5|genre=Popular Science|summary=Luke Dittrich seeks to shed light on the man behind the initials, and in doing so, uncovers quite a bit more than he expected.}}
<!-- Jule -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:1783099593.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1783099593/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Speaking Up by Allyson Jule]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]] 'Speaking Up' has a fascinating subject matter - how language reflects and shapes our notions of gender. It looks at our use of language in media, education, religion, the workplace and personal relationships. Author Allyson Jule calls on an encyclopedic body of research from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. Reading it, we feel that she has studied everything that has ever been said on gendered linguistics; she references Foucault and the Kardashians with equal rigour. [[Speaking Up by Allyson Jule|Full Review]] <!-- Campbell -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Campbell_Astra.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1471164055?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1471164055]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Ad Astra: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet by Dallas Campbell]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]] So… you want to leave the planet? Before you do you'd better study the whole history of human space flight to get up to speed. That could take a while… if only there was a handy guide that could condense it all down for you. Enter Dallas Campbell with this book: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet. [[Ad Astra: An illustrated guide to leaving the planet by Dallas Campbell|Full Review]] <!-- Adrian -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Adrian_Sock.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1501315064?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1501315064]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Sock (Object Lessons) by Kim Adrian]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]] The subject of this book has been around for several millennia, and yet my partner's daughter has been employed for several years designing it, or them. It's something I use for about 200 days of every year, at a guess (well, I have my self-diagnosed over-active eccrine glands and other people to think about) – which clearly puts me at the opposite end of the scale to well-known mass-murderer of women, Ted Bundy, who was into stealing credit cards to fund his desire of having a fresh pair every single day. On which subject, the amount of them we create every year could stack to the freaking moon and more. Some idiots buy more than six pairs a year, apparently, which is plain stupid. I'm talking, as you can tell, of the humble sock. [[Sock (Object Lessons) by Kim Adrian|Full Review]] <!-- Germano -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Germano_Eye.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1501312340?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1501312340]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Eye Chart (Object Lessons) by William Germano]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]] It's happened to me, and like as not it has or will happen to you, too. I mean the receipt of certain little numerical results, with a positive or negative before them to prove the correction needed to my vision to make me see with the intended clarity and normality. I've had that gizmo that photos the back of my eye to check for diabetes and other problems, I've had different tests to check the pressure inside my eye, and I've come away with glasses I don't need to wear all the time, but certainly benefit from on holiday, or when watching TV or a cinema or theatre production. And above and beyond that I've stared at – and got wrong – the simple, seemingly ageless test, of various letters in various configurations that diminish in size, to prove to the relevant scientist at what stage things get blurry for me. Of course it's not ageless, but the scientific progress that led to it, the changes other people made to it, and the cultural impact it's had are all on these eye-opening small pages. [[Eye Chart (Object Lessons) by William Germano|Full Review]] <!-- Ball -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Ball_Wonders.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1472939980/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical by Johnny Ball]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]] Like many people of a ''certain age,'' I have fond memories of tuning in to watch Johnny Ball enthusiastically extolling the virtues of maths and science; succeeding where our schoolteachers had failed and actually making these subjects ''fun.'' Although decades have passed since those classic TV shows, his latest book proves that he has lost none of his passion and enthusiasm for his subject. [[Wonders Beyond Numbers: A Brief History of All Things Mathematical by Johnny Ball|Full Review]] <!-- YONG -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Yong_Contain.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1784700177/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life by Ed Yong]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]] The world you know is a lie. There is no such thing as good or bad microbes. Sickness and health are all far more complex than we thought. Things designed to save us may kill us and things we think would kill us may save us. Welcome to the modern study of Microbes. [[I Contain Multitudes: the microbes within us and a grander view of life by Ed Yong|Full Review]] <!-- Beattie -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Beattie_Stupendous.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784938467?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784938467]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Stupendous Science by Rob Beattie and Sam Peet]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]], [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]] Education should be fun. We learn best when we are engaged with practical, enjoyable tasks. That's the secret behind the experiments in Stupendous Science. They have the fun element, the 'wow factor,' and most importantly, can be easily replicated with items that are readily available in the home. Each experiment teaches an important scientific concept; essentially teaching through play. [[Stupendous Science by Rob Beattie and Sam Peet|Full Review]] <!-- Sarcone -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"| [[image:Sarcone_Optical.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784938475?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1784938475]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Optical Illusions by Gianni Sarcone and Marie Jo Waeber]]=== [[image:5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]], [[:Category:Children's Non-Fiction|Children's Non-Fiction]] I used to work as a library assistant and I remember arriving to work one morning to find all of my fellow librarians crowded around a book, chattering excitedly and...squinting rather oddly. The book was called ''Magic Eye'' and promised a magical 3D viewing experience if you looked at the psychadelic pictures in a certain way. For a brief period in the early 90s, the pictures had a sudden spike in popularity, until everyone presumably got eye strain and went back to their everyday lives. Well good news Magic Eye fans! The pictures are back (albeit only two images), in the engrossing and immersive new book ''Optical Illusions.'' [[Optical Illusions by Gianni Sarcone and Marie Jo Waeber|Full Review]] <!-- ALLISTON -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Alliston_Build.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1784938483/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Build It! 25 Creative STEM Projects for Budding Engineers by Caroline Alliston]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]] ''Build It! 25 Creative STEM Projects for Budding Engineers'' takes a strictly hands-on approach to science to show how scientific ideas can be applied to real-world situations. The book contains 25 projects with varying degrees of complexity to demonstrate topics such as air travel, programmable machines, light, motion and electricity. The book is designed with the younger scientist in mind, so there is a focus Move on the fun aspect, with many of the projects involving toys. [[Build It! 25 Creative STEM Projects for Budding Engineers by Caroline Alliston|Full Review]] <!-- Jopson -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Jopson_Science.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1782438386?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=1782438386]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Science of Food: An exploration of what we eat and how we cook by Marty Jopson]]=== [[image:4star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Cookery|Cookery]] I've always believed that if you understood ''why'' something worked in a particular way it was very easy to remember ''how'' it worked and what you needed to do. The food we eat is no exception to this rule and ''The One Show'' resident scientist Marty Jopson has undertaken to explain how things work in the kitchen - and he covers everything from the type of knives we use through to the food of the future. Best of all, he does it in language that even a science illiterate like me can understand. [[The Science of Food: An exploration of what we eat and how we cook by Marty Jopson|Full Review]] <!-- Browne -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Browne_Many.jpg|link=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1845409159/ref=nosim?tag=thebookbag-21]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[The Many Faces of Coincidence by Laurence Browne]]=== [[image:3.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]] Browne does not mislead with this choice of title; he does without a doubt explore the many faces of coincidence. [[The Many Faces of Coincidence by Laurence Browne|Full Review]] <!-- Dittricht -->|-| style="width: 10%; vertical-align: top; text-align: center;"|[[image:Dittrich_Patient.jpg|left|link=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0099571862?ie=UTF8&tag=thebookbag-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=0099571862]] | style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"|===[[Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness and Family Secrets by Luke Dittrich]]=== [[image:4.5star.jpg|link=Category:{{{rating}}} Star Newest Reference Reviews]] [[:Category:Popular Science|Popular Science]], [[:Category:Biography|Biography]] Luke Dittrich seeks to shed light on the man behind the initials, and in doing so, uncovers quite a bit more than he expected. [[Patient H.M.: A Story of Memory, Madness and Family Secrets by Luke Dittrich|Full Review]] <!-- DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->|}