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  • Published: 15 March 2015
  • ISBN: 9780099572404
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $32.99
Categories:

Sonic Wonderland

A Scientific Odyssey of Sound





An original and compelling tour of the world's most amazing acoustic phenomena and a passionate plea for a deeper appreciation of and respect for our shared sonic landscapes.

As an acoustic engineer, Trevor Cox has spent his career eradicating unwanted noises – echoes in concert halls, clamour in classrooms. Until the day he heard something so astonishing that he had an epiphany: rather than quashing rare or bizarre sounds, we should be celebrating these sonic treasures.

This is the story of his investigation into the mysteries of these Sonic Wonders of the World. In the Mojave Desert he finds sand dunes that sing. In France he discovers an echo that tells jokes. In California he drives down a musical road that plays the William Tell Overture. In Cathedrals across the world he learns how acoustics changed the history of the Church.

Touching on physics, music, archaeology, neuroscience, biology, and design, Cox explains how sound is made and altered by the environment and how our body reacts to peculiar noises – from the exotic sonic wonders he encounters on his journey, or the equally unique and surprising sounds of our everyday environment.

In a world dominated by the visual, Sonic Wonderland encourages us to become better listeners and to open our ears to the glorious cacophony around us. Listen to a selection of astonishing sounds here: https://soundcloud.com/sonicwonderland

  • Published: 15 March 2015
  • ISBN: 9780099572404
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 320
  • RRP: $32.99
Categories:

About the author

Trevor Cox

Trevor Cox is Professor of Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford and president of the Institute of Acoustics. He has presented numerous science radio documentaries and has written for the New Scientist. He is an associate editor for an international journal of acoustics, and the author of Sonic Wonderland. Twitter: @trevor_cox

Also by Trevor Cox

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Praise for Sonic Wonderland

A technological travelogue conducted by an expert tour guide, bursting with aural arcana that adds just the right amount of tech-savvy detail, Sonic Wonderland brings into relief a world often obscured in our image-heavy existence. Even as we follow Cox to the ends of the Earth, what makes his book a real rush is that it's ultimately an ear-buzzing journey to the center of our minds.

Greg Milner, Perfecting Sound Forever

This small encyclopedia of strange sounds reveals how much art there is in the act of listening. Reading it made my ears more mindful

Adam Gopnik
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