Bruce Benamran's international bestseller explains not only what scientists know, but how they know it, how they think, and how we can think for ourselves, too.


How do magnets work?
What is the theory of relativity all about?
Is light made of waves or particles?
And how on earth can a levitating goat teach us about atomic structure?

In this age of smartphones, artificial intelligence, supercolliders, supercomputers and other cutting-edge technology, we've lost touch with many of the most basic science concepts that launched our information age. For Bruce Benamren, science is about stories and characters. Why, for instance, did pirates wear eye patches? That's all to do with how the retina processes light. Pirates running down to the gun deck would have no time to let their eyes get used to the dark, so they kept one eye gun-deck ready.

Bruce isn't pretending that science isn't tricky, but in simple, maths-free explanations and just-the-good-parts historical recaps, he shows us that the greatest scientific discoveries and theories don't have to remain beyond our grasp.

Whether you haven't picked up a test tube since school and feel like you're missing out on something marvellous, or you're a professor who wants to look at the world with starry-eyed wonder again, How to Speak Science is a witty yet deeply revelatory exploration of the essential mysteries of the universe.

Because if a goat can explain scientific theory, you can too.