Extreme Science: Science in the Danger Zone!

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

Add the word “extreme” to any product today and it will likely sell
well. The content of this book—scientific breakthroughs and
inventions—varies little from other books that have covered the
history of science and technology for upper-elementary grades; however,
it is more likely to hold the reader’s attention with its emphasis on
the extreme, risky, or dangerous aspects of the history,

There are four chapters: “Extreme Experiments,” “Extreme Tests
and Demonstrations,” “Extreme Measures,” and “Extreme
Solutions.” Within each chapter are a series of stories, one or two
pages in length, with such exciting titles as “Cast Adrift ... on
Purpose,” “Saved from a Watery Grave” and “Operation Desert
Hell.” Each story describes skill and daring, courage and luck. All
are told in language at or above the Grade 6 reading level. While the
stories are factual, they are related with attention-grabbing dramatics,
such as “The airplane bolted across the sky, rocking and bouncing as
its speed climbed higher.” To keep the reader engaged, each story is
followed by a few subject-related “extreme facts.” Overall, the
volume succeeds at making scientific history palatable to youth.
Recommended for school and public libraries.