Bill's own fascination with science began with a battered old schoolbook he had when he was about ten or eleven years old in America. It had an illustration that captivated him
- a cutaway diagram showing Earth's interior as it would look if you cut into it with a large knife & carefully removed about a quarter of its bulk. & he very clearly remembers thinking: ' How do they know that'? Bill's story-telling skill makes the ' How?' & just as importantly the ' Who?' of scientific discovery entertaining & accessible for all ages. In this exciting edition for younger readers he covers the wonder & mysteries of time & space the frequently bizarre & often obsessive scientists & the methods they used the crackpot theories which held sway for far too long the extraordinary accidental discoveries which suddenly advanced whole areas of science when the people were actually looking for something else (or in the wrong direction) & the mind-boggling fact that somehow the universe exists & against all odds life came to be on this wondrous planet we call home.