The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True

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Overview

Magic takes many forms. Supernatural magic is what our ancestors used in order to explain the world before they developed the scientific method. The ancient Egyptians explained the night by suggesting the goddess Nut swallowed the sun. The Vikings believed a rainbow was the gods’ bridge to earth. The Japanese used to explain earthquakes by conjuring a gigantic catfish that carried the world on its back—earthquakes occurred each time it flipped its tail. These are magical, extraordinary tales. But there is another kind of magic, and it lies in the exhilaration of discovering the real answers to these questions. It is the magic of reality—science.

Packed ...

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More About This Book

Overview

Magic takes many forms. Supernatural magic is what our ancestors used in order to explain the world before they developed the scientific method. The ancient Egyptians explained the night by suggesting the goddess Nut swallowed the sun. The Vikings believed a rainbow was the gods’ bridge to earth. The Japanese used to explain earthquakes by conjuring a gigantic catfish that carried the world on its back—earthquakes occurred each time it flipped its tail. These are magical, extraordinary tales. But there is another kind of magic, and it lies in the exhilaration of discovering the real answers to these questions. It is the magic of reality—science.

Packed with clever thought experiments, dazzling illustrations and jaw-dropping facts, The Magic of Reality explains a stunningly wide range of natural phenomena. What is stuff made of? How old is the universe? Why do the continents look like disconnected pieces of a puzzle? What causes tsunamis? Why are there so many kinds of plants and animals? Who was the first man, or woman? This is a page-turning, graphic detective story that not only mines all the sciences for its clues but primes the reader to think like a scientist as well.

Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous evolutionary biologist and one of science education’s most passionate advocates, has spent his career elucidating the wonders of science for adult readers. But now, in a dramatic departure, he has teamed up with acclaimed artist Dave McKean and used his unrivaled explanatory powers to share the magic of science with readers of all ages. This is a treasure trove for anyone who has ever wondered how the world works. Dawkins and McKean have created an illustrated guide to the secrets of our world—and the universe beyond—that will entertain and inform for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

"I want to show you," writes famed scientist Richard Dawkins, "that the real world, as understood scientifically, has magic of its own—the kind I call poetic magic: an inspiring beauty which is all the more magical because it is real and because we can understand how it works." In this beautifully illustrated graphic science book, the famed evolutionary biologist teams up with artist Dave McKean to display the wonders of nature and offer cutting-edge answers to some of life's biggest questions.

— Vicki Powers

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review.

In this outstanding "graphic science book," evolutionary biologist Dawkins (The Selfish Gene) teams up with illustrator Dave McKean (The Graveyard Book) to examine questions in everyday science, such as: why seasons occur; what things are made of; and whether there's life on other planets. They explain the answers from mythological and cultural points of view before diving into the chemistry, biology, and physics-all in language that advanced middle school, or most high school, students can absorb. Rather than oversimplifying things, Dawkins's explanations demonstrate that life on earth is magical enough without tricks of the eye or supernatural theories. Appearing on every page, McKean's illustrations cover the gamut from prehistoric creatures along the evolutionary chain to a sequence showing how the immune system defends the body from a flu virus. This book may be exactly what's needed to increase science literacy for readers of all ages.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Library Journal
Author of The Selfish Gene, much-decorated evolutionary biologist Dawkins has taught at both Berkeley and Oxford; illustrator McKean spooked up Neil Gaiman's Coraline, designed the Broadway musical Lestat, brought many of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter creatures to the screen, and in general is responsible for hundreds of book and CD covers and advertising illustrations. What a team to highlight the world's wondrous natural phenomena.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781439192818
  • Publisher: Free Press
  • Publication date: 10/4/2011
  • Pages: 272
  • Sales rank: 17,440
  • Product dimensions: 7.46 (w) x 9.94 (h) x 0.98 (d)

Meet the Author

Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is a Fellow of the Royal Society and was the inaugural holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair of Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is the acclaimed author of many books including The Selfish Gene, Climbing Mount Improbable, Unweaving the Rainbow, The Ancestor’s Tale, The God Delusion, and The Greatest Show on Earth. Visit him at RichardDawkins.net.

Dave McKean has illustrated and designed many award-winning comics and books as well as CD covers, a Broadway musical, and creatures for the Harry Potter films.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 16 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(9)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(2)

2 Star

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1 Star

(5)

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Sort by: Showing all of 14 Customer Reviews

  • Posted September 14, 2011

    Please make this available in the Nook Color!

    When I heard about this book in one of my pages in Face-book I had to get it; not only for me but for my 4 year old. When I was little I always read nature books, and I want my son to enjoy reading and learn in the same time instead of fairy tales and i fine this book to be perfect. Please make this available in the nook, I'm still going to buy it when it comes out if you don't. (^.^)

    30 out of 31 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 1, 2011

    I Also Recommend:

    9781416594796 9780393327656

    So much ignorance these days, it makes me sad.

    I have read through the comments of this book, and one caught my eye. This section is to review the book, but instead this person simply ranted about how scientists supposedly act religious and pretend like we know everything. This person also claims to be a scientist, however this is obviously not true. There are facts in this world, and we form explanations for these facts in scientific theories. These FACTS do not change, however theories do. He stated that many things have been proven wrong in the last 20 years that we previously thought right. These have all been THEORIES, not the basic facts that they are meant to explain.

    Now for an actual review. First of all, so that everyone understands the author: Dawkins is an Atheist, yes, but he admits that we do NOT know if god(s) exist or not. On a scale of 1-7 (with 1 being absolutely sure God exists and 7 being absolutely sure that god does not exist), Richard puts himself at a 6.9. These silly people who pretend that Richard believes himself to be an all-knowing perfect person are ignorant fools. The second main purpose (behind the main purpose of introducing the beauty of science to children) of this book is to show that over history, we have had many religions, and most of them are now accepted to be myths. So then why do we have faith in faiths that have simply slaughtered more people (which is why they even survive)? It is illogical to refer to old religions as myths and believe your religion is 100% correct.

    In this book of 272 pages, Richard put an amazing (in my opinion) 12 chapters touching upon What is reality, what is magic, who was the first person, what are things made of, what is the sun, etc. Keep in mind though, that none of these are really in depth that most adult readers would like them to be. This is because this is meant to be focused on children and young adults. The book is great for what it is, a book meant to allow parents to introduce the wonders of the world to their children. There are many reasons as to why this is a great book to give to your child. For one, the illustrations are phenomenal, some of the best I have seen in a book to date. Also, despite what other ignorant reviewers would claim (who probably have not even read this book), Dawkins emphasizes on keeping an open mind. He states, "We should always be open-minded, but the only good reason to believe that something exists is if there is real evidence that it does."

    Dawkins also talks about magic in this book and effectively shows why believing in magic, myths, and miracles are illogical. He talks about many myths, and does this fairly evenly. You can tell he really wanted to discuss as many myths as he could to show that it's not just the Judeo-Christian religion he is against, it is them all.

    Richard also makes his two main points about myths and science flow beautifully. He often in this book explains a scientific concept (ranging from atoms, organic chemistry, Isaac Newton, Gravity, light, coal, stars, energy, rainbows, the Big Bang, tectonics, and much more!) and then refers to various myths and shows that none of these religions have explicitly detailed explanations of natural phenomenon that science has explained with astonishing accuracy. He also often shows that these myths actually contradict the scientific knowledge of our universe.

    I could honestly sit here and write about this wonderful book, but unfortunately I am out of space. I urge any parent to get t

    13 out of 14 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 5, 2011

    A must read for anyone...

    This is another great release by Richard. After reading the book everyone should get a clearer picture of the surrounding us universe. Sure there will be plenty of people rating this 1 star but after reading their review one can realize it's nothing more but ramblings of either creationists or hardcore trolls who just want to make the book appear less of what it really is.

    13 out of 16 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 3, 2011

    Another great work by Dawkins!

    Everyone should know what to expect by now, sound reasoning, razor-sharp insights and a scathing indictment of mysticism and superstition. Dawkins is one of my favorite non-fic authors and I can't imagine him not delivering a great read.

    12 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 11, 2011

    Need as a nook book !

    I don't buy regular books anymore. I would love to read this book on my nook color. Kindle has it ...available today. I love my nook and I want to support Barnes and Noble, but the books I would like need to be availble.

    7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 3, 2011

    Facts in a world of fiction

    Too many people today chose to base their decisions on feelings and fairy tales rather than science and verifiable facts. Richard Dawkins shows a relentless pursuit of reality that we should be passing on to our children rather than the unsubstantiated dogma delivered by uneducated zealot sheep.

    4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 25, 2011

    Hmmm

    I don't hate it but don't love it. I didn't get anything out of it, there's too much smoke and mirrors going on for my taste. I didn't read anything that got me any closer to what's true.

    3 out of 14 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 21, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    Higly recommended.

    This is an excellent book.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 14, 2011

    excellent easy read

    loved it

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 1, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    WOW

    amazing

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 27, 2011

    nothing new

    same message different book

    0 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 25, 2011

    Not good

    Read my headline.

    0 out of 15 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 23, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 4, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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