REALLY, REALLY BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT SPACE AND TIME

Big most of the questions may be in this companion to Stephen Law’s Really, Really Big Questions About Life, the Universe, and Everything (2009, also illustrated by Choksi), but too many of Brake’s answers barely qualify as placeholders. Ranging in scope from “Why do we think there was a beginning to the universe at all?” to “Is space smelly?” (yes), the queries, placed one to three per spread, headline breezy comments that perhaps concentrate too much on engagement and not enough on substance. The author informs readers that a clock traveling at 50 percent of light speed would be 14 percent slower than one left on Earth, but he doesn’t really explain why; he delivers a baffling explanation of why space is dark; he asserts that wormholes may be theoretically possible but provides no scientific backing; he omits space law in considering “Who owns space?”—in short, he doesn’t deliver. The design frequently places black print on dark, highly saturated backgrounds, which will cause readers to squint or give up altogether—probably a good thing. (glossary, index, further reading) (Nonfiction. 10-12)