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The Joy Of Physics by Arthur W. Wiggins
01/03/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
Pub: Prometheus Books. 390 page illustrated enlarged paperback. Price: $26.95 (US). ISBN: 978-1-59102-590-0. Buy The Joy Of Physics in the USA - or Buy The Joy Of Physics in the UK  check out website: www.prometheusbooks.com and www.TheJoyOfPhysics.com
To tell the truth, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from a book with the title 'The Joy Of Physics'. Maybe somewhere along the lines of the virtues of letting some physics into your life perhaps. Wrong! This is actually a brilliant basic primer giving you a background to physics. Before you start groaning about yet another science book, author Arthur Wiggins explains everything eloquently with experiments at the end of every chapter that should be easy to do at home with simple equipment. He stops this towards the end when dealing with atomic structure and the more esoteric dark matter but if you have access to a cyclotron in your back garden then even that's not going to stop your learning curve.
One of the problems of doing science at school is the teacher having to go through the syllabus at a particular speed to ensure it gets completed within a term. If you need some time to absorb things or at the back of the class, its very easy to be left behind against those with a knack. With a book such as this, you can absorb things at your own speed and shouldn't have any problem re-reading and getting the gist of things you didn't get the first time. If you're new to the subject then you'll have less to unlearn.
Not only is there physics but also biographical details on famous physicists like Newton, Fermi and Eintein. Wiggins seems to like to tell you how big a family these people came from but with the absence of television I guess there were other things to do. Wiggins is also assisted by the cartoons of Sidney Harris, illustrating various things to raise a smile and occasionally to see if you're paying attention.
The great joy of this book is that you should come away from it with a working knowledge of physics which you might not have had when you first started reading it. If you're planning to write Science Fiction, then it is kinda essential that you have a book that you can refer to check on the subject or preferably read and this one makes it easy to do both without getting too bogged down in technical jargon. Heartily recommended.
GF Willmetts
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