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Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold

 
Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold
   Author: Tom Shachtman
By Houghton Mifflin (Trade)
Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 3.0/5

List Price: £8.95
Our Price: £4.85

more information about Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold
Customer Reviews
Average rating of 3/5 Great subject, shame about the writing, 2000-04-09
Hard on the heels of Longitude, Cod, Tulips, Nutmeg, Telescopes and other popular scientific subjects comes Absolute Zero - a fascinating subject that rightly deserves a place on the bookshelves. It's a crying shame, then, that Absolute Zero is so disappointing. The information is there, sure, but the writing style is appalling; chapters dart all over the place, scientific references assume far too much background knowledge from the reader, and references to events and people just aren't contextualised either properly or understandably.

This book could easily have been on the bestseller list if it had been properly edited - it seems to this reviewer that the book was rushed out just to be on the bandwagon of the success stories mentioned above. Pity.

It's a bit late now, but what I would suggest is get another editor, pulp this edition, and release the book again when the job has been done properly. And watch the sales skyrocket!

So to sum up - if you're willing to persevere with the style (or lack of it), you'll get a lot out of the book. However, it would be so much better after another edit.

Related Items of Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold
Product Information
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 509
EAN: 9780618082391
ISBN: 0618082395
Label: Houghton Mifflin (Trade)
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin (Trade)
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2001-03-09
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Trade)
Studio: Houghton Mifflin (Trade)
more information about Absolute Zero and the Conquest of Cold
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