13 Things That Don't Make Sense, By Michael Brooks

It is not easy for anyone to admit that they are stuck. But being stuck is the most exciting position to be in, argues Michael Brooks, for it is from here that exciting new pathways might be chanced upon, such as Copernicus's discovery that the Earth goes around the Sun. Why can we only account for four per cent of the cosmos? Are we more than just a bag of chemicals? Has ET already been in touch? The ultimate question is, who are we? Whether we believe we're star dust or nuclear waste, this book keeps us hooked.

Indeed, as Isaac Asimov once said, "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not 'Eureka!', but 'That's funny...'" Brooks, who holds a PhD in quantum physics, grapples with no less than what he perceives as the most intriguing scientific mysteries of our times. It is to his credit that he manages to be "funny" in both senses of the word, injecting welcome doses of humour into observations, such as the sight of three Nobel laureates being unable to operate a lift.