David Darling

From the earliest of civilisations, humans have found ways to make music, whether through makeshift drums or artfully drilled bone flutes. But how did music – effectively little more than a series of unrelated frequencies and rhythms – become so integral to the human experience? Untangling the curious links between notes and number, musical perception, psychology and physics, David Darling...

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...