David Darling travels through space and time to find the largest, smallest, stickiest, loudest, quietest, fastest, slowest, heaviest and brightest…
What’s the brightest light on Earth? The coldest corner of the universe? The blackest material ever made? The most poisonous substance in nature?
‘You will learn something new in every chapter, on every page and probably in every paragraph. Hugely entertaining.’ Kit Yates, author of The Maths of Life and Death
Ka-boom! probes extremes of size and speed, depth and density, and reveals the stickiest, sweetest, smelliest and nastiest substances known to science.
In an unabashed celebration of the exceptional, David Darling takes an enlightening journey through the universe’s weirdest and most wonderful extremes.
'Fascinating... A kind of cross between the Guinness Book of Records and the most engaging of popular science bestsellers, Ka-boom! is an absorbing journey into the realms of the largest and smallest, the fastest and the slowest, and the blackest and the brightest.' —Daily Mail
'Who doesn't love a superlative?... Ka-Boom! – The Science of Extremes is both refreshing and absorbing... delightfully described with an understated humour... This book is a fact-nerd's heaven. But, despite its subtitle, it is so much more than a list of interesting facts and figures. Read up on the fascinating extremes of the Universe and entertain your guests at dinner parties!' —BBC Sky at Night, ★★★★★
'Ka-Boom is jam-packed full of extreme facts. Throughout the book Darling provides entertaining answers to questions you never even knew you had. You will learn something new in every chapter, on every page and probably in every paragraph. Hugely entertaining.' —Kit Yates, author of The Maths of Life and Death
'Darling serves up a fun, informative, and quirky overview of some fascinating science facts... There’s something for everyone in this quick and engaging read... Even inveterate science geeks should enjoy this time spent with fascinating facts.' —Booklist
David Darling is a science writer, astronomer and musician. He is the author of nearly fifty books, including the bestselling Equations of Eternity. Together with Agnijo Banerjee, he is the co-author of the Weird Maths trilogy and The Biggest Number in the World. He lives in Dundee, Scotland.
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