Addison-Wesley Life Science. Teacher's Edition Book

I am on the fence about this one.

In this book, Roger Highfield discussed the science behind many aspects of Christmas, from the virgin birth to the science of cooking a Turkey. The problem is that is it is... odd.

The first problem is that it is a bit dry. It is not as funny (if at all) as it is claimed to be, and feels far too heavy to be a coffee table read.

The second problem is its methodological inconsistency. One minute it assumes that somethings are nonsense, then assumes they are real, with no real statement as to why. This could be because much of the material in the book comes from Highfield's newspaper contributions, but surely the could have been rewritten to better fit a book format.

I also take umbrage against his pandering to religion. In the acknowledgements, he claimed to have sought feedback from a priest to ensure that the book isn't blasphemous. Science and religion are not compatible, and blasphemy should be something no scientist should fear if it is grounded in evidence-based proof. Why on earth Highfield is trying to be kind to religion at the expense of scientific common sense is beyond me.

It isn't all bad. The parts on mental health at Christmas and alcohol were genuinely interesting for me, but the buck stopped there.

I didn't really dig this read overall.