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A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.
I’ve always been fascinated with the cosmos (who isn’t?), and I even once splurged for a telescope to put in the garden for my family to enjoy. But with only one college astronomy class (101) under my belt, my knowledge of the stars falls into the “Dummies” category. Which is why I loved DK’s new book, The Stars: The Definitive Visual Guide to the Cosmos.
Not that it’s only for dummies. The large 10.1 x 12.8 book is for astro newbies as well as the more seasoned who will enjoy the scenery and surely pick up some new stellar facts. It’s for teens as well as adults, jam-packed with starry science that falls into three sections. The first, “Understanding the Cosmos,” covers the basics and beyond, from the Big Bang, starbirth, supernovae and neutron stars to black holes, colliding galaxies, galaxy clusters and a lot more.
“Constellations,” the second and largest section, is loaded with the significance and charts of constellations – some popular ones (like those from the zodiac) as well as many I’d never heard of before (like Vulpecula the fox and Monoceros the unicorn). The third, smallest section of the book, “The Solar System,” just touches on our sun and planets, and was the one section that the authors could have expanded.
In true DK fashion, The Stars compliments its smart yet accessible text with a heavy dose of charts, maps, sidebars, and brilliant photos. The authors managed to make every page highly fresh and engaging. – Carla Sinclair
A FIELD GUIDE TO REDHEADS - AN ASSORTMENT OF PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS ALL TOPPED WITH RED
A Field Guide to Redheads: An Illustrated Celebration by Elizabeth Graeber Workman Publishing 2016, 160 pages, 5.1 x 0.7 x 7.1 inches (hardcover)
For redheads, and people who love them, get past the slightly disturbing title and enjoy this collection of people, places, and things, all with red on top. The subjects are diverse, from movie stars to redheaded animals to L. Ron Hubbard to a recipe for carrot soup. The full-page, full-color, ink-wash illustrations are all charming and usually identifiable: Ron Howard is clearly nobody else, while Ginger Spice is less recognizable. Redheads of the White House, Thelma and Louise driving off a cliff, Mario Batali, and Malcolm X, all lovingly drawn here for your…your…well, it’s not clear what the point of the book is, but it’s enjoyable and odd, and isn’t that enough? – Sara Lorimer
Once a week we’ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because the possibilities they inspire are new. Sign up here to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.
04/4/25
