That's Not in My Science Book: A Compilation of Little-Known Facts

by Kate Kelly

The follow-on to the best-selling "That's Not in My American History Book" explains in everyday language both the ordinary and the bizarre technological marvels that we take for granted and the laws of nature that serve as the baseline for life on earth. Beginning with clear, concise, and entertaining descriptions of the important discoveries that form the basis of our scientific knowledge -Newtonian mechanics, Einstein's theory of relativity, evolution, and germ theory, to name a few -the book goes on to tell scientific stories that "are lost between the pages." These include the discovery of the periodic table of elements (and why it matters), the development of miracle drugs such as aspirin and penicillin, the invention of television, the prospects for earthquake prediction, and the genesis of the Internet.Whether it's a fascinating anecdote about the role of zebrafish as stand-in patients for humans or the history of the computer, "That's Not in My Science Book" will prove to be an engaging read for armchair scientists and students alike.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Reference

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Kelly, Kate, 1950- (from Library of Congress)

As a professional writer, Kate Kelly specializes in helpful nonfiction and has more than 24 titles to her credit. Topics range from business subjects to raising teenagers; she also writes on health and wellness. Kelly works as both a collaborator with experts and as author of her own books.

Kate Kelly is well known to the media as a reliable expert on parenting and on family safety. She is frequently quoted in magazines and newspapers and appears regularly on television.

Some of her titles are The Teen Health Book (Norton), which she worked on with adolescent medicine specialist Ralph I. Lopez, M.D., and Living Safe in an Unsafe World (NAL), for which she has done a great deal of media recently because of the heightened public interest in safety. In addition, there is continuing media interest in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Parenting a Teenager.

Reviews

[Stephanie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uno de los problemas de este libro es que toca puntos que quedan sin explicación. Otro de los problemas es que la primera edición es del 2010 por lo que 8 años sí hacen la diferencia en cuanto a algunos temas. Fuera de eso, me pareció muy interesante (con excepción de los temas de la gripe aviar y de Einstein que creo que se alargan demasiado). La verdad es que sí aprendí cosas nuevas y recordé otras que ya sabía.

[Fernando del Alamo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro para dar una introducción a diferentes temas de la ciencia. Para dejarse llevar por sus páginas, de un modo fácil y explicando alguna que otra anécdota interesante.
Es un libro que yo recomendaría a princpiantes que se inician en leer libros de divulgación.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, but could be updated.

[SaraKat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well-written explanation of a few basic science concepts. I liked the author's explanation of why the book needed to be written. Many people learn science basics in school and then never delve more deeply than science headlines after that. Science headlines are, unfortunately, very misleading at times and don't give the public very much useful information. This leads to snowballs being used as proof that scientists don't know what they are talking about. Sigh.

The importance of adults knowing science basics and educating themselves after graduation is stated nicely here:

Because we are fortunate enough to live in a democracy, our opinions actually matter. For that reason, we need some basic understanding of science so that we can develop educated opinions about what is happening.

Later, a quote from Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring reiterates that adult citizens of the world have a responsibility to know the basics to make good stewardship decisions:

The public must decide whether it wishes to continue on the present road, and it can do so only when in full possession of the facts. We still talk in terms of conquest. We still haven't become mature enough to think of ourselves as only a tiny part of a vast and incredible universe. Man's attitude toward nature is today critically important simply because we have now acquired a fateful power to alter and destroy nature.

Each chapter covers a topic's major historical points and the current knowledge. I enjoyed the reading, but it was definitely written for a layperson. I didn't learn many new things.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good information on the very basics underlying big movements in science and famous scientists. I'd call it a bit of a misnomer since I learned a good portion of this in science textbooks back in my school days, but it's a good refresher. Could be updated since it's from the early 2000's. A tad preachy at times, but good info if you're looking for the basics of some of the big movements, particularly in terms of big scientific personalities and contributions. I do wish the author had taken the opportunity to focus on some more out-there, interesting, a little bit wacky factoids and topics since that was what the title put me in mind of. Maybe it just wasn't what I went in expecting.

[Pitiff Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much was new information or "little-known" facts in science. Covered the standard topics of science and is a quick refresher for subjects like physics, chemistry, biology, and geology.

The chapters on elephants, mosquitoes, and nanotechnology were the most interesting because those felt like fresh, random topics that aren't discussed extensively in school already. That's what I was expecting more of - more random science concepts and facts. This book was par for the course in terms of science books.

Good compilation of science topics. Well-written and easy to read, but the title is a misnomer. 3/5 stars.

[Jsrott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book did a very good job covering at a basic level several of the "big" movements in science history as well as the current status of various disciplines. While some of the material was out of date (and writing a book about science, especially new science, necessarily requires that that happen) it was still a nice, layman's addition to the popular science movement. Frankly though, if what is in this book really isn't in our science books, we should not be surprised at the state of scientific illiteracy in this country.

[Fátima Gutiérrez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy buen libro referente a los descubrimientos, lo leo en el 2020 cuando en el libro habla de la gran pandemia de la gripe aviar, acá estamos con el cov19. Muchas detalles conocidos y de repaso, otros interesantes.

[Jordil2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bastante decepcionante. Bastante orientado a lectores de USA. Ciertos temas ya se han quedado anticuados. Los temas los trata de forma muy superficial y de forma desordenada.

[Angela]

This book is a bit outdated and has a few things this I find to be untrue or
skirt on being so. When reading this make sure that you do not take everything at face value.
Even with these flaws it is a good read and can help someone just starting out in the science
world to become curious about the subject. When using this book in the classroom it might be a good book
to assign students as a reference when doing a research paper or a scientific book report. This
book would be a great choice for those students that are reluctant to read or have a read
disability. The language in the book is easy to understand.

[Hal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be an interesting book that delves into topics of science in a different, kind of trendy way. A lot of the material is well known if you have been around long enough and read science type books. It was an entertaining type of read covering a wide range of scientific topics. I especially liked the concluding chapter on the future and in particular nanotechnology which I find fascinating.

[Fila Trece (Liantener) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy ligero libro sobre hechos científicos. El título no es necesariamente cierto, ya que varias cosas sí las vi en la escuela. Interesante para quienes quieren empezar a recuperar esos conocimientos que en la escuela les pasaron "de noche".

[Ismael Acevedo · Rating 3 out of 5]

De entre los títulos de este tipo, este ha sido el menos entretenido, no busca serlo de hecho, es probablemente que buscaba un libro más ameno, este no lo es, los datos no son especialmente sorprendentes y tienen mucho que ver con los temas americanos.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hate mosquitoes more than ever now. Added more to my list of "reasons to hate the FDA". Also added to my "If we go extinct it will be our own damn fault" list.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very well presented and written. The information was great. I was very impressed with the environmental section.