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Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Science Is Golden

(HarperCollins; 252pp paperback; $27.99)

As the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at Sydney University, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki has quite a lot to live up to, apart from obviously having to display considerable scientific talent. Professor Sumner Miller was one of the great scientific communicators and a formidable entertainer, whose bellowing "Why is it so?" will be fondly remembered by most Australian boomers.

Dr Karl is in a very different animal — much more quietly spoken, much less abrasive, much gentler, perhaps much naughtier — but he is every bit as effective in popularising science and making it fun, whether it be chatting on ABC Radio with Adam Spencer, sharing the stage with same as part of the Sleek Geeks, answering listeners' questions on JJJ, or penning books such as Science is Golden.

This, indeed, is his 27th tome and offers an excellent resource when facing a flurry of impossible questions from an overly keen grandchild. It may not have all or any of the required answers, but it certainly provides plenty of provocative material to use in dodging one question by posing another:

"Why don't you have any hair Grandpa?" can hence be effectively dodged with "Did you know that the female hyena has a 17-centimetre clitoris?" or "Did you know that cranberry juice can be used to treat urinary tract infections?"

Well, perhaps not. But the book does remain a fertile repository of fascinating information on a vast range of topics — from the Mayan-predicted apolcalypse of 2012, to the biology and geography of the Black Death, to establishing that black holes don't suck.

And don't be surprised to hear Dr Karl on your local radio station next Thursday (6 November). He's going to be sitting in Dymocks Sydney George Street store and attempting to set a Guinness World Record for the most interviews on radio in 24 hours. Good luck!