Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre ExperimentsAlex Boese
The scene is Christmas, a little over eight short months ago.
Picture this: family gathers round, cheerfully exchanging presents. Traditional Christmas music plays, the air is sweet with scented candles and baked goods, and no one is arguing. (Actually, I'm pretty sure my Uncle Chiron is arguing with somebody, probably about politics, but that's neither here nor there.) The point is, the goodwill is almost palpable.
Until, that is, I spy something disconcerting.
Someone other than myself has received a book.
This will not stand.
I make my way over to my cousin, who has just been gifted with something that was clearly meant for me: Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments. I smile sweetly and ask to see his present. Yes, this was meant for me. I don't make a scene though -- instead, I return it to him and make a mental note to rectify this mistake as soon as possible. I will own this book and restore balance to the universe.
And I have.
There isn't much to say about the book itself. Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments is just that: a collection of bizarre experiments including but not limited to forcing unsuspecting elephants to have the time of their lives. We are given access to dozens of experiments, both on animals and people, both alive and dead. Some experiments were successful, others were not.
While the experiments are, for the most part, entirely fascinating (there were a few that bored me, but that's to be expected), it's Boese's writing style that wins the day. Boese's conversational style is often humorous and never over-technical, which makes reading Elephants on Acid both informative and fun.
In a nutshell: Interestingly enough, my cousin kinda looks like the author. Coincidence? I'm not so sure.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars
Picture this: family gathers round, cheerfully exchanging presents. Traditional Christmas music plays, the air is sweet with scented candles and baked goods, and no one is arguing. (Actually, I'm pretty sure my Uncle Chiron is arguing with somebody, probably about politics, but that's neither here nor there.) The point is, the goodwill is almost palpable.
Until, that is, I spy something disconcerting.
Someone other than myself has received a book.
This will not stand.
I make my way over to my cousin, who has just been gifted with something that was clearly meant for me: Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments. I smile sweetly and ask to see his present. Yes, this was meant for me. I don't make a scene though -- instead, I return it to him and make a mental note to rectify this mistake as soon as possible. I will own this book and restore balance to the universe.
And I have.
There isn't much to say about the book itself. Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments is just that: a collection of bizarre experiments including but not limited to forcing unsuspecting elephants to have the time of their lives. We are given access to dozens of experiments, both on animals and people, both alive and dead. Some experiments were successful, others were not.While the experiments are, for the most part, entirely fascinating (there were a few that bored me, but that's to be expected), it's Boese's writing style that wins the day. Boese's conversational style is often humorous and never over-technical, which makes reading Elephants on Acid both informative and fun.
In a nutshell: Interestingly enough, my cousin kinda looks like the author. Coincidence? I'm not so sure.
Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars
1 comment:
I picked this book up recently thinking it would be an interesting read. (I totally bought it for the title alone)
And I know exactly what you mean about other relatives receiving books on holidays, I always feel like perhaps the packages were mislabeled :)
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