The Quirks and Quarks Guide to Space: 42 Questions (and Answers) About Life, the Universe, and Everything.

This follow-up to the 2002 Quirks & Quarks Question Book: 101 Answers to Listeners’ Questions maintains the familiar question and answer format of the previous book, but it is a summary of the discoveries and developments in a particular field, astronomy, rather than random scientific trivia. Paying homage to Douglas Adams, who in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy famously wrote that the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is 42, the book is arranged like a “hitchhiker’s guide” to space, starting with where exactly “space” begins, then taking readers through our solar system to the edge of the universe. Lebans, a long-time producer on Quirks & Quarks, captures the informal and humorous tone the popular CBC Radio One show is known for. The 42 questions, such as “How do you cook an astronaut?” are phrased to entertain and to arouse curiosity, and don’t necessarily have to be read sequentially. The book tackles some of the most monumental questions currently facing scientists, including the nature of dark matter, how the universe will end, and whether there is life out there, yet it remains accessible to the average reader. As Quirks & Quarks host Bob McDonald notes in his introduction, readers don’t need a Ph.D. to understand or enjoy it.