Review of `Do cats have belly buttons? And answers to 244 other questions on the World of Science', edited by Paul Heiney, published by The History Press of Stroud, Gloucestershire in 2008.
Reviewer: Dr William P. Palmer
The book is said to answer the questions asked by the general public via e-mail or telephone to an organization called Science Line and Heiney has selected the questions in this book (the second in this series) from the thousands of questions received, This reviewer is surprised that only two questions relate to human sexuality (vaguely), which is often an area in which many questions are asked.
Two errors were noted; there may well be others. On page 17, it is stated that "It [nitrous oxide] was first discovered in 1793 by Robert Priestley..." Wikipedia states "The gas [nitrous oxide] was first synthesized by English natural philosopher and chemist Joseph Priestley in 1772" In a book dedicated to informing the public correctly, errors like this should not occur.
Another small error (page 181) which is probably just an editorial omission, is that the text states that `...the effective temperature of empty space is close to absolute zero (-279oC) [incorrect] whilst on (page 233) the correct value for absolute zero is given as `minus 273.15oC'.
`Do cats have belly buttons?' has 246 pages which include a six page index which is useful, though, for example, only the second mention of absolute zero (p. 233) is included in the index. Chapter headings are The human body, Life in the world, Science all around, How on earth ...?, Sky high and beyond, Can you just explain ... and And now the BIG ones. There are many black and white illustrations interspersed throughout, some humorous and some instructive. The style is jolly and moves pleasantly forward, so I was favorably impressed with the book. However, the fundamental purpose of this sort of factual science book remains problematic. Who is it for? What audience does the book hope to reach?
BILL PALMER
