I stumbled upon this series of tiny books, that handle one topic each. There are topics such as 'the human body', 'the golden section', and 'the alchemist's kitchen'. As much as I'd like to collect all of them, I made myself pick two. Both books are incredibly nicely designed and illustrated. See how well-detailed the covers are: the illustrations along the borders are related to the books' topics and there text hidden in the brown rims.
The Compact Cosmos by Matt Tweed
I've read this one already and loved it. It is very interesting and there's a wealth of information in there. When you open the book you see that each chapter is only a page long and has a picture to go with it on its right hand side.There's chapters such as 'galaxy types; whorls and whips', 'black holes; through the event horizon', and 'the neighborhood star; a glimpse of the sun'. Love that last title!
Evolution: A Little History of a Great Idea by Gerard Cheshire
I haven't read this one yet, but it's the same principle: a chapter on the left hand side and illustrations on the right hand side. Examples of chapter titles are 'the book of life; four letters, twenty words', 'the migration of genes; out of Africa', and 'sexual selection; the beautiful things creatures find attractive'.
What's also cool about these books is that they're made entirely from recycled paper. You can get all this well-illustrated information printed on environmentally friendly pages £5.99. Later I found out you can also read the books online on the wooden books website!
Sincerely,
R.
