The Address Book: Our Place in the Scheme of Things

by Tim Radford

Over the years, millions of school children must have written out their address in the same way - their house number and street, their town, their country, their continent, planet Earth, the universe...

Following this simplest of patterns, taking each line of the address as a starting point, Tim Radford explores our place in the scheme of things - why we are attached to a particular geographical place and what significance do we have when faced with the realms of astronomy and astrophysics.

Fascinating, entertaining and completely original, The Address Book tackles some of the most fundamental questions facing us, and allows us see ourselves completely afresh.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Timothy Robin Radford was a British–New Zealand journalist who was the science editor for The Guardian from 1980 to 2005.

Reviews

[Jane Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Radford takes the childhood habit of writing one's address with "the world, the universe" etc. tacked on the end. He writes lyrically at times but without telling me anything I didn't know. In the end, I didn't see the point of the book.

[Mark Edon · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good idea for a chapter or two but not a whole book. Filled out to whole book size by self indulgent waffle that others might find interesting.