The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments

Johnson's mix of the personal, the erudite and crystalline prose is -- like the pull of gravity (see beautiful experiment number 1) -- an irresistible force.

Scientific American

As a science journalist, Mr. Johnson is a seasoned translator of technical jargon. He also has a sharp eye for human plot, both in and out of the laboratory . . . a certain spirit of wonder breathes through Mr. Johnson's chapters.

New York Sun

Johnson has a good feel for detail . . . and an easy touch with larger concepts . . . Johnson's lively book nicely evokes the lost world of the tabletop experiment .

New York Times Book Review

Johnson's lively book... finds beauty throughout science - even among dead frogs and drooling dogs

Scotsman

Johnson manages to convey the heart-stopping wonder of discovery

Radio 4, Today programme

In describing these beautifully simple works of genius, Johnson reveals as much about the corporatist nature of modern science as he does about early research

Scotland on Sunday

Johnson's essays balance human interest and scientific wonder in equal measure, making for a delicious succession of vignettes

Guardian

Most of us know the outlines of the stories he tells but in his hands they again evoke the eureka moment that in each case changed people's undrstanding of how the world worked.

Nicholas Bagnall, Sunday Telegraph

A delightful read that will stimulate the scientist inside everyone

Bluesci

Delightful, succinct, elegant.

Roger Penrose