The Where, the Why, and the How: 75 Artists Illustrate Wondrous Mysteries of Science

This book's explanations of natural phenomena--ranging from the cosmic to the microscopic--offer a unique exploration of the world around/within us. Those presented by scientists are articulate, accessible, and at times even funny. They are rooted in observation and focused research. The interpretations shared by artists are likewise based on dedicated study, but their artistic freedom allows them to present their subjects in rich, personal, and often beautiful ways.Overall a beautiful book (inside and out--the cover and binding are very high quality).A great gift.

If you love science and you love art, you will find this book as irresistible as we do. The authors invited seventy-five artists to make illustrations based on questions posed to fifty scientists. Each two-page spread features the scientist’s question and answer on one side and an artist’s interpretation on the other.The questions are ones most of us all wonder about: What existed before the Big Bang? What is the origin of the moon? Why do we blush? How do migrating animal find their way back home? What did dinosaurs eat? How much of human behavior is predetermined? How do squirrels remember where they bury their nuts? Why do we hiccup? Why are humans and chimps so different if they have nearly identical DNA?Even if there is no definitive answer (and sometimes there is not), you still get a pretty good explanation, and a summary of the state of the knowledge about the question at the present time. Most of the entries are succinct, clear, and understandable to the lay person, written by an array of contributors including physicists, aerospace engineers, biologists, research librarians, and quite a few professors.The illustrations are outstanding. Sometimes you may not quite “get” them until you read the accompanying science piece, and then their cleverness impresses you all the more. The artists chosen by the compilers are from a mix of backgrounds, and include comic artists as well as fine artists. Most of the pictures are ones I wish I had on my walls.At the end of the book, there are helpful indexes of not only of the questions explored, but of the names of contributing scientists and artists.This book will provide endless stimulation, both intellectually and visually. The authors said their goal was to bringing back a sense of wonder in the age of Google and Wikipedia, and they have certainly succeeded.

A lot of fun, terrific illustrations. Nice hardbound book that I hope will be in our family for a long time. If you'd like to see some more examples of the illustrations (all of which are full-page, color), I recommend checking out the review at the blog "Book by it's Cover".

A lovely book that exceeded my expectations. My 9-year old son got a hold of it after I was finished with it, and now it's gotten a second life being read at bed time :)

Just want the expectation of wondrous learning that the add promotes. It’s good facts but I thought it would be more engaging with visuals for students too want to explore more from each. Great information but it doesn’t hold my push to continue as they promised

'Cosmos' this was not. While the articles were interesting, the art did not meet the expectations raised by the publishers jacket comments. It would pay to do a more judicious examination of reviews next time. The articles touched on a number of interesting topics, so it was a fair book in all.

The pictures in this book are lovely, and the information is interesting to read. A great coffee table book. A great find.

Love the illustrations so much. The articles are brief enough to allow a causal read for anyone dropping by for only a moment. I confess, I bought it with the intention of slicing out favorite images and framing them, but once I had the handsome volume in hand, I couldn't bear the thought. And generally, I have few qualms about cannibalizing books for their art.Lovely, informative, and worth the purchase.

Brought this book for my husband and for my sister.They both really liked it.I liked how it was different people writing on subjects they knew and different artists and graphic designers illustrated the ideas.

It was supposed to be a present but I'm going to have to buy another one to give away because this is a book to savor and it will take me a while to work my way through it!

Great book , love reading it, love the pictures, love drawing the pictures, printed one on a tshirt , can readt it many times , actually educting and interestig partially funny etc.

a brilliant idea, well realized, a rich object, which justify the life of real book, you need to keep it with your hands!compliments to the authors, the scientist, and the artist for the great team job.

dieses Buch ist einfach wundervoll. die künstlerische Gestaltung 1a und die Texte sehr eloquent. für Menschen, die neugierig sind, gerne Dinge hinterfragen und sich für Kunst interessieren super.