North Pole, South Pole: The Epic Quest to Solve the Great Mystery of Earth’s Magnetism
Gillian Turner
AWA Press, ($40)
The earth and its magnetism is a subject that captures the imagination and attracts wonderment; there is a sense of mystery surrounding it that has puzzled great minds for centuries. North Pole, South Pole is an historical overview of scientific thoughts and reasoning on what causes magnetism; from the early postulations of the ancient Greeks, through to modern breakthroughs in the field through the use of supercomputers.
North Pole, South Pole provides an excellent overview of the subject matter, and the history of discovery provides a wonderful and engaging narrative that is often lost in pop science books written by academics. It is an effortless read for anyone, from physicists to complete science novices. There are illustrations and a comprehensive glossary within the book that should provide comfort for anyone who does not have any background in science. Not that it will really be needed, as the book is written in very clear and accessible language.
The book does get a bit repetitive at times, as each period in history is presented using a similar style of narrative. In saying that, it is still screeds ahead of reading academic journals or Wikipedia articles on the subject. Due to the vast amount of historical time to cover, the book basically brushes over each concept quite quickly. Knowing nothing about how the earth’s magnetic fields work, this style was especially effective, as I felt as though I was also discovering in the same way in which the great scientists did hundreds of years ago.
The true beauty of the book is that the writing is able to capture Gillian Turners passion for magnetism and transfer it onto the reader. Within reading just a few chapters, I found myself wanting to talk about magnetism to anyone who would listen. The book is filled with interesting bits of information that are perfect to bring up in dinner party conversation, such as the alignment of the streets of the Chinese town of Shandan. The change of orientation of the magnetic compass between the two periods when the town was built, means that the streets were built at different alignments (there is also accompanied by an aerial image of the city plan). Marvellous.
Overall it is an interesting book, on a subject that most laymen would still consider a mystery. A better read if you are unfamiliar with the subject, as the lack of depth into specific concepts may frustrate readers who already have an understanding of the basic stuff.
3.5 Stars
Easily puts Metallica’s Death Magnetic to shame. But that’s not hard.
- Jeannie Gold
