Amazon has let me down! I have to take serious exception to this book being marketed to children as young as nine to twelve years old. On previewing the book before giving it as a gift, I discovered that in addition to some things a child might comprehend and be interested in, there are several that the parent of a nine year old trying to delay exposure to sex, violence and drugs would have major trouble with.

Sections on Artificial Insemination and Sperm Banks are rather "detailed" and would raise more questions than they would answer. One on Truth Serum describes how it might be used on an axe murderer; the piece on chicken processing details assembly line shackling, stunning and beheading methodology; and one on gun silencers references the close quarters use on movie characters. There are also sections on the production of marijuana and hashish.

Aside from these sections, the information is varied, interesting and informative, but on the whole I would say it is written for adults and would be of most interest to mid-teens and older. Parents will no doubt differ on what to present when, but I would consider this definitely unsuitable for nine year olds, and marginal for those 12-15.

Talk about an entertaining read for children! I have all of her books. This is great educational material for your children, and it should definitely be part of their library. At first, I thought this was just for kids. I landed up loving her books. It's very interesting. Less TV, and more of this stuff for children.

We came across this book at the Smithsonian book shop and frankly neither my 13 year old daughter, nor I could put it down. We learned how to saw a person in half, and lots of other useful skills. Each item has a short description explaining one "mystery of the universe". Each is presented in a fun, entertaining manner. You can just browse through till you come to one of the things you were always dying to know about. The collection of items is very eclectic. This book is a charmer that virtually any kid or kid at heart would enjoy.

This book is wonderful if you want to read a little throughout the day when you don't have enough time to really settle down for a full story. It has answers to all the things you usually would take for granted or simply never thought about. The style is pleasant and easy to read and makes every topic a joy to explore. Really a very nice book.