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What a Wonderful World  By  cover art

What a Wonderful World

By: Marcus Chown
Narrated by: Clive Mantle
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Publisher's summary

Why do we breathe? What is money? How does the brain work? Why did life invent sex? Does time really exist? How does capitalism work - or not, as the case may be? Where do mountains come from? How do computers work? How did humans get to dominate the Earth? Why is there something rather than nothing?

In What a Wonderful World, Marcus Chown, best-selling author of Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You and the Solar System app, uses his vast scientific knowledge and deep understanding of extremely complex processes to answer simple questions about the workings of our everyday lives.

Lucid, witty, and hugely entertaining, it explains the basics of our essential existence, stopping along the way to show us why the Atlantic is widening by a thumbs' length each year and how money permits trade to time travel, why the crucial advantage humans had over Neanderthals was sewing, and why we are all living in a giant hologram.

©2013 Marcus Chown (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

“Reading a well-written popular science book is one of the great pleasures of modern times, and this guided tour through life, the universe and everything affords that pleasure in abundance.” (Brandon Robshaw, Independent)

What listeners say about What a Wonderful World

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Way too esoteric

Requires a reasonable sophistication in physics to follow all the details. Hardly a primer for the scientifically interested layperson.

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2 people found this helpful

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life, universe and everything....

.... beautifully explained.
I didn't understand everything, and surely I will not remember everything, but ut was a joy listening to it.

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Learn how all things have come into existence

This was truly the most interesting book to learn how things have come into existence in our everyday lives , and even our lives themselves .

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Very informative! Good voice on reader

Very nice, writtten in a way that even laymen can relate to. Worth the money!

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Loved it

Great book to fall asleep to, in a good way. Like a bedtime story for adults and science nerds

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Voice actor’s imitations were disturbing

The content is amazing. However, the imitations of the voice actor for the quotations were really disturbing and not politically correct at all.

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