What Einstein Told His Barber

Publisher's Summary

What makes ice cubes cloudy? How do shark attacks make airplanes safer? Can a person traveling in a car at the speed of sound still hear the radio? Moreover, would they want to?

Do you often find yourself pondering life's little conundrums? Have you ever wondered why the ocean is blue? Or why birds don't get electrocuted when perching on high-voltage power lines?

Robert L. Wolke, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and acclaimed author of What Einstein Didn't Know, understands the need to... well, understand. Now he provides more amusing explanations of such everyday phenomena as gravity (If you're in a falling elevator, will jumping at the last instant save your life?) and acoustics (Why does a whip make such a loud cracking noise?), along with amazing facts, belly-up-to-the-bar bets, and mind-blowing reality bites, all with his trademark wit and wisdom.

If you shoot a bullet into the air, can it kill somebody when it comes down? You can find out about all this and more in an astonishing compendium of the proverbial mind-boggling mysteries of the physical world we inhabit.

Arranged in a question-and-answer format, What Einstein Told His Barber is for anyone who ever pondered such things as why colors fade in sunlight, what happens to the rubber from worn-out tires, what makes red-hot objects glow red, and other scientific curiosities.

©2000 Robert L. Wolke (P)2012 Tantor

Great Science - Well Presented

A great listen, there is so much fun science, that you'll need to listen to this book at least twice. You do not need to be scientific to enjoy this book.

Wish this guy narrated all of Wolke's books

Great content like all of the Einstein series... But Mr. Hoye really brings out the author's sense of humor. The other narrator used for the Einstein vooks makes it a bit wet-lipped and awkward. My $0.02.

Science made understandable

Fun stuff. Part of a collection by this author. Explanations of everyday phenomena that weren't covered in school (though the scientific concepts are familiar from my astrophysics courses). Great explanations, love the puns and plays on words. Entertaining and gives so much understanding of the world around us. Accessible even to those who have no background in science. For those who have specific interests in only certain questions or what to follow it more closely, a print version might be more advisable, but it suited my tastes.

Another great Wolke book

What did you love best about What Einstein Told His Barber?

As with all of Wolke's entertaining books, I learned a lot about everyday things that are fascinating

What other book might you compare What Einstein Told His Barber to and why?

Wolke's other books about everyday science explained in plain terms

What aspect of Stephen Hoye’s performance would you have changed?

I listened to his work on a book about Scientology and he did a great job, but I did not like him for this particular book. For this book I wish they had used Sean Runnette, who narrated Wolke's other books. Runnette has the perfect voice--I felt like I was listening to the author, who is clever and funny, narrate his own book.

Shame about the narrating.

What made the experience of listening to What Einstein Told His Barber the most enjoyable?

As is usual for Mr. Wolke's writings, it contains great nuggets of information, but it was particularly hard to stay focused due to the narration of this specific work.

Would you be willing to try another one of Stephen Hoye’s performances?

Mr. Hoye's performance was rather poor, with little inflection in his tone he made the listening quite boring. All other Wolke books had been read by Sean Runnette, who did a marvelous job in relating scientific jargon to the everyday person

Majority of Info NOT information from Einstein

What disappointed you about What Einstein Told His Barber?

I bought this book too quickly, and the title mislead me.

Has What Einstein Told His Barber turned you off from other books in this genre?

Many of the concepts in this book are not as thought provoking as I would have thought.

What about Stephen Hoye’s performance did you like?

I think he did a fine job, and the narration was done well.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I fell asleep a few times. I thought some of the information was informative, but I had higher hopes. I may have just been disappointed, because I like Einstein, and this was not his work or thoughts I was purchasing, rather a hodge-podge of general information.

Any additional comments?

If you know it is not Einstein, you may have a better reaction, and go in with less excitement. This may give you a better overall experience. I should have read up on the book a little more, but what a concept - listen in on conversations between Einstein and layman around him. Title of book fail, not a writing fail.

7 of 15 people found this review helpful