Reviews

Here are a few reviews of some of my books.

SEEING SCIENCE
“A worthy addition to any science collection, featuring stunning full-color images with broad appeal for multiple levels of engagement.”
(Library Journal)

WATER – A VISUAL AND SCIENTIFIC HISTORY
“Water, the most vital and familiar of substances on our planet, still holds many wonders and scientific surprises. Here it is explained in truly spectacular style, showing how water is at the same time a deceptively simple molecule, the wellspring of life and civilization, and one of the most ubiquitous substances in the cosmos.
(Philip Ball, author of Life’s Matrix and The Beauty of Chemistry)

“In his gem-like book, Water, Jack Challoner explores this humble, essential, astonishing liquid through multiple facets—from history to physics to space exploration—and allows every one of them to shine with real fascination.”
(Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Poison Squad and The Poisoner’s Handbook)


THE ATOM – A VISUAL TOUR

“A delightful read for those seeking to learn how chemistry and physics have so rapidly evolved over the last 200 years.”
(New York Journal of Books)

“An engaging and visually appealing overview of physics and chemistry.”
(Forbes)


THE CELL: A VISUAL TOUR OF THE BUILDING BLOCK OF LIFE

“The balance of short passages of text and useful diagrams and infographics serve as a perfect introduction to the topic, providing a comprehensive guide to life’s building blocks.”
(How it Works magazine)

“What a fantastic book. I have taught Biology for nearly 40 years and I could not put it down. The authors have concisely summarized biological concepts with skill that my students could understand and used amazing illustrated examples. It has up to date content on existing and new biology which has filled in some gaps of my own knowledge. I have had to prise it back off my year 12 students.”
(Review on fishpond.co.nz)

“… presented clearly with bright and vivid pictures, it never feels too wordy, and is never beyond the understanding of a curious layman (not to in any way imply that it’s too basic either, it covers a hell of a lot!)”
(Amazon review)

“Amazing writing and photography. Teaching me things I could have never imagined I would learn.”
(Amazon review) 

REAL LIVES: JOHN SNOW
” Very well written, easy reading style. Very interesting story about his struggle to get his ideas accepted by the mainstream medical world.”
(Amazon review)

THE ELEMENTS
“What a great treatment of this subject! This is excellent in the same way that the old Time-Life history sets were. The material is presented in an easily logical pattern, with lots of interesting facts, photos, and enough tease material to encourage a reader to read further. I’ve never seen the periodic table presented so simply and clearly to the general public before. Kudos!”
(A review from Library Thing) 

“Excellent science book. I would highly recommend this to anyone with children. Written at HS+ level it has beautiful photos, that would engage younger children until they understood the text.”
(A review from Goodreads) 

“Takes you on a gorgeously illustrated tour of the Periodic Table. Filled with fascinating information about the elements, their main compounds, and their principal uses, this authoritative yet accessible book, written by renowned popular-science writer Jack Challoner, makes ‘hard’ science easy, interesting, and relevant to our daily lives.”
(Georgia Public Library)

“An illustrated, and supremely comprehensive, reference book on the elements. As well as helpfully providing an image of each element, this contains general information about the properties, behaviour and occurrence of the elements, their principal uses and main compounds. All elements are listed, even the lesser-known Einsteinium, Protactinium and Ytterbium, presented in a completely easy-to-understand way.”
(Guardian Bookshop)

GIANT LEAPS
“I wish there had been a book like this to awaken my interest in science.”
(Tony Blair)

DESIRABLE FUTURE
“Given the broad audience this book is intended for, the author does an excellent job of making the subject very accessible to all audiences. For example, the author’s definition of web 2.0 is the clearest I have read so far.”
(BCS, The Chartered Institute for Information Technology)

THE BABY MAKERS
“The historical background, scientific facts, future developments
and ethical arguments are blended together by a master storyteller”
(British Medical Journal)

LEARN ABOUT ROCKS AND MINERALS
“… an excellent resource for teaching children the fundamental principles governing rocks and minerals … also contains a number of terrific and fun experiments that are well thought-out and easy to duplicate.”
(Reader review on Amazon.com)

EQUINOX: ‘SPACE’ AND ‘THE BRAIN’
“… Throughout, Challoner’s writing displays an unassuming intelligence and deceptive simplicity … Science may never be sexy, but these books make it seem vivid, vital and relevant.”
(City Lights magazine)

EYEWITNESS VISUAL DICTIONARY OF CHEMISTRY
“Thanks for producing this book. It really gets kids involved by letting them picture the scene.”
(Letter from a chemistry teacher)

THE ATLAS OF SPACE
“… a first-class reference, highly recommended for getting kids of any age interested in the mysteries of astronomy.”
(The Midwest Review of Books)

MY FIRST BATTERIES AND MAGNETS BOOK
“… a real gem of ideas and activities guaranteed to delight any child.”
(Sunderland Echo)

START-UP SCIENCE SERIES
“… Each two-page spread presents easy-to-read captions next to pertinent photos and illustrations, and ends with an experiment.”
(School Library Journal)

… and finally …

“Thank you for your wonderful talk. I thought it was brilliant. If I get to be a scientist, I will remember you for inspiration.
P.S. My mum liked it as well.”
(Letter from a school child)