Excellent for Laypersons
924555
This timely book on a serious topic is written so well that nonscientists and scientists alike are likely to be impressed by the factuality and story telling skills of the author.  She lays out the case for the Sixth Extinction with the examples with the details and expertise of the diverse scientists she's researched. Yet, the reader comes away not depressed about our collective future on this planet. 0
3133922
This is an excellent primer for someone like me, who has only a cursory knowledge of the linguistics and phonetic terminology, gained from popular literature and newspapers. I'm now able to much better understand terms like "phoneme" and "morpheme". It also gives a unique take on language families and language trees, illustrated graphically, although I believe that some of the dates given in these presentations may be the author's conjecture rather than those established in the literature. It also has a (refreshingly) non-Western viewpoint, which is otherwise sorely lacking in the literature, on such subjects as the origins of human language. For example, the theory presented ascribing the origins of the major world language families to infant phonemes common to all cultures, ethnicities and races is extremely interesting, though I would have liked some substantiation of it from field or clinical studies (not presented).

Overall, this is a very good read for the lay person with just a passing interest in language, linguistics or phonetics.
2203020
Written in plain language that is very easy to understand.  Reads like a conversation to a layperson.
2164747
T  he book is very insightful educational and very profound yet very easy for the average lay person to understand.
2992368
As a scientist, it's hard for me to rate this book as simply a layperson. However, I found that this book had a very easily understandable scientific background, with interesting family and medical stories tied in. The author did do a great job of keeping the scientist in me intrigued, though, talking about genetic discoveries, medical issues, and current research in the afterword.
750473
Insightful, well written and considering the content, very easy for the layperson to grasp these concepts and ideas. I highly recommend the read.
4626973
I found this book really interesting. It is definitely written for the layperson, and as such was very easy to read. It contained a lot of good information on a number of methods currently marketed to maintain and improve one's cognitive abilities. Whether or not those methods will withstand rigorous empirical testing is another matter, and one which is outside of the scope of this book.
754035
This weighty volume is very interesting and educational even for a lay person like myself. The color illustrations are so much larger, clearer and easy to understand that the black and white illustrations in the "classic" Gray's Anatomy. It helps us better understand the incredible machines that our bodies are. Plus you can set it up to have the full volume accessible from your smart phone or PC / laptop / iPad.
906327
I thought this book was an excellent introduction to the field of nanotechnology for the non-scientist.  I highly recommend this book to those interested in cutting-edge scientific ideas as well as those with a particular interest in nanotechnology.
I am a lawyer and graduate law student interested in the field of nanoscience from a legal/regulatory perspective.  I have not taken a science course since early high school and I wanted a book which would give me a "gentle introduction to/overview of" the field so that I could grasp the science/technical basics.  I found this book perfect for that purpose.  It simplifies complex ideas without being simplistic.  It starts with the very basics and explains simple concepts - like what is an atom, what is a molecule - without dumbing-down the information.  It then progresses to the more complex, offering a terrific overview of nanoscience from the broadest possible perspective.  It covers virtually every area - from optics, to electronics, to biotechnology, to ethics and investment issues. It even contains a helpful glossary of important terms.
I thought that it was a wonderful book, intelligently written, brief and to the point.  I can see how some people who are well versed in science might find this book too basic.  However, as the authors point out in the introduction to this book, it was designed to introduce the scientific basics of nanotechnology to non-scientist professionals.  It succeeds in doing just that. I know I will refer to it time and again during my research and I will recommend it to everyone with an interest in this fascinating field.
1037239
This is a very good book for the layperson - an easy read.  I have referred back to it several times to help put into perspective other research I have come across in my reading on the brain.
1821459
I don't get where people are saying it's not written for the layman. I don't consider myself to be extraordinarily intelligent, but I found this to be pretty easy to follow and understand. Great book, I highly recommend it to anyone.
4668220
An excellent text on evolution targeted toward the layman. He starts off with simple premises to show that it is possible to create complex structures by means of random mutations and then goes on to show the evidence of evolution throughout the natural world. A large amount of opposition to this book seems to come about because Dawkins has become the public face of atheism in the Western world. This book, however, does not deal with that question in one way or the other. Its main argument is that there is evolution (and evidence for that) and possible mechanisms by which it may have occurred. In all, a very enjoyable and informative book.
1269324
This book provides a clear introduction to the secular materialistic viewpoint on the mind. Easy enough for layman to comprehend. Although Calvin's accuse to quantum physicists may be too vigorous and unfair, I still recommend this book for those who find Crick's "The Astonishing Hypothesis" too dense and long.
526347
Mr Emmons clearly loves his subject, and sharing it.  The book is high science, yet accessible and enjoyable , even to this recently retired layman.  I think its readership should extend beyond the classroom, to those who simply want  to better understand and appreciate their surroundings.

One of the two 1 star ratings is inappropriate (book not yet received), and the book does need an update.  I'll recommend this one in the meantime.
2207329
great and interesting book for a non-scientific layman like myself.  It is very easy to read and gives me a great understanding of how the universe is working and how men and women came to understand it.  I bought this book as a gift for a friend who I had told about how good it was, and they decided it was something they would want also.  They like it as much as I do.
4893966
This book is well written and easily understandable by the layperson. There are just enough case examples that you won't get bogged down with all the science; you'll actually be able to draw conclusions from the points made. Our modern world so badly needs books like this that will help raise awareness of how deeply trauma truly affects people.
759261
I am a layman and have been studying urban planning for several years.  I have read several books on urban planning and this is one of the best I've seen.