What’s it Like to be Chased by a Cassowary? Fascinating answers to perplexing questions: The most informative and entertaining explainers from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald

by Felicity Lewis (ed.)

Ever wondered what happens to us as we die? Or how the Esky became an Aussie cultural icon? Or why we have leap years? Then look no further – and even if you haven’t wondered, you’ll want to find out. This anthology is a diverse collection of explainers by some of the finest writers from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. It tackles quintessentially Australian topics (where does the term ‘mate’ come from?) as well as questions being grappled with around the world (what will our homes be powered by in the future?). Inquisitive readers love the explainer columns for their strong and surprising storytelling, deeply researched reporting and inventive illustrations. They have become some of the most popular content articles in The Age and Herald, and reader requests have inspired explainers about exploring everything from think tanks to tennis racquets, from quantitative easing to why cicadas sing at dusk. Explainers offer a rich understanding of how and why – rather than just who, what, when and where. Within these pages you will find an absorbing and illuminating selection of some of the most popular explainers, as well as never before published pieces especially written for this book. There are surprising facts about all aspects of life and information about all kinds of investigations from throughout history and around the world. Prepare to be enlightened, enthralled and educated – you’ll never ponder how to evade that rampaging cassowary again!

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

292 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2020

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it claims to be - an informative and entertaining book where journalistic explainers, well, explain things. Some are topics you may have idly wondered about, like how tennis rackets are made in order to deliver the tension, speed, rebound, etc, that suit the playing styles of various tennis pros. Other inform you about a topic to the extent that you would better understand the historical and current context of news articles on related subjects, like the history of slavery and closely related practices in Australia. While no-one is going to find fascination in every essay, the ones that do catch your interest will leave you feeling like you could hold your own a little better in dinner conversation. You'll lose nothing by just cherry picking the essays that most interest you, but I found even the ones that were of less interest to me initially were engaging enough to spend time on. There's just something enjoyable about delving a little deeper into a random topic. Worth a read.

[Brenda Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Australian view of various topics, which would have more immediacy at the time they were written. The writing quality varied and some topics will date, however a good short story type format, not too taxing on the mind. Overall mostly common knowledge with a few insights. The cassowary one was a bit ott. The slavery one needed more depth. My favourite was about tennis racquets (who knew?) as it was something useful for a conversation if opportunity arose.

[Xanthi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook format.
Some of the topics covered were interesting but there were a fair few that only just managed to hold my attention (wine) and some that were just plain dull (both sports ones). But that’s to be expected in a collection such as this. Overall, a decent book to dip into for those readers who are curious about a very wide range of topics.

[Kerrie Forrest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it! Some chapter topics are of more interest to me than others but overall, a good broad range of topics. Some of those things I had just never thought of myself.

[Mick Maye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing

Random topics explained by various authors. Some topics are interesting and enlightening. Definitely worth a read as it gives fairly good answers to the topics.

[Bob Mendelsohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful compilation of previous answers to queries lodged by readers of Fairfax media's SMH or The Age. Fun, informative, and sometimes downright useful!