“wide-ranging, intelligent and non-dogmatic… a lucid and companionable guide to some of the big issues in science, past and present.”
Martin Kemp, Times Literary Supplement
“Ball is capable of making us gasp at worlds both tiny and huge.”
Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian (on Flow)
“Extremely high-end popular science, with constant reference to the physical business of actual experiments and careful disclaimers about modelling assumptions. Ball evinces a rigorous, patient curiosity, with an occasional flourish of authentic style.”
The Guardian (on Branches)
“Packed with inspiring images of natural patterns, including the perfect hexagons of the bees’ honeycomb and the angelfish’s stripes, Shapes answers questions such as what makes seawater foam like the frothy head of a beer?”
New Scientist (on Shapes)
“From the curl of a ram’s horn to patterns of spider webs and the development of an embryo, Ball examines the possible causes of the shapes and forms we observe. His book contains a lot of fascinating detail about the different physical, chemical and evolutionary processes at work.”
The Economist (on Shapes)
“Ball has done a brilliant job of leading us through many of the complexities of modern research on the shapes adopted by natural species.”
Chemistry & Industry (on Shapes)
“highly stimulating and entertaining reading. This slim little work, which may at first sight appear somewhat puny and unpromising, manages to pack a great deal of punch.” Chemistry & Industry (on Flow)
Buy SHAPES now on AMAZON
Buy FLOW now on AMAZON
Buy BRANCHES now on AMAZON
Oxford University Press (2009) hardcovers
Shapes, Nature’s Patterns, a Tapestry in three Parts ISBN 978-0-19-923796-8
Flow, Nature’s Patterns, a Tapestry in three Parts ISBN 978-0-19-923797-5
Branches, Nature’s Patterns, a Tapestry in three Parts ISBN 978-0-19-923798-2