This was a fun book that hooked me and kept me reading. I LOVE to learn and discover new facts to spout off at random moments and this was filled with them. My daughter grew tired of my useless new information. I like how it was organized and how simplified it was for me.

Fun read, makes complex concepts simple to understand. If you’ve ever wondered how cats always land on their feet (or do they?) this book may answer that question and a few others.

Usually, this sort of book is not my thing. If I'm going to pick up nonfiction, it's most likely going to be a memoir of some sort, but I couldn't resist getting the answer to the age old question: how do cats always land on their feet?

This book is great in not being bogged down by too much scientific jargon. It was easy enough for someone with a basic understanding of physics to follow along (and let me tell you, I have the MOST basic understanding of physics). The anecdotes that accompany the science of these "falling felines" makes this read all the more interesting. Not only are we given a history of records testing how cats fall, we are also given a history of the photography behind capturing this phenomenon in action.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and picked up a finished copy as soon as I could so my family could read it.

"Scientifically, we have learned a lot from cats, and it's time for that story to be told."

Cats have become the staple of the internet. They are cute, furry, and often hilarious to watch - they are, at once, deadly predators and slapstick comedians. But they are also a favourite subject of many scientists mainly because of their ability to land on their feet when they fall. In his book, Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics, physicist and cat parent, Gregory J Gbur, looks at the scientists throughout history who have been intrigued by it; the experiments and photographs taken to try to understand it; the explanations and controversies about how it's done, some of which still exist today; as well as it's applications in many different areas including space exploration, robotics, neuroscience, and mathematics. The book is interesting, well-written, well-researched, easily accessible and surprisingly fun. To anyone who decides to read it, I recommend taking a close look at the illustrations by Sarah Addy - there is a charming and playful wit to them that adds to the enjoyment of Falling Felines. I have to say, of all the science books that I've read this year, not to say there's been many, but I definitely enjoyed this one the most.

Just one final word of caution: According to the author, no cats were hurt in the making of this book. Please, don't drop your cats to test any of the hypotheses.

<i>Thanks to Netgally and Yale University Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

Two of my favorite topics in one well written book. The combination of topics is unusual and perfect. There are little unexpected things, such as a poem with more formal information about both subjects.
Get this book if you love cats and physics, you will be glad you did.

This was so accessible and enjoyable. The writing is engaging and there is something interesting on every page. An absolute must read for science lovers!

Gosh I loved this book! Science + cats? Oh hell yes. How wouldn’t I like it? When you read the blurb or otherwise learn about a book that somebody has written on falling cats and the science around it, you inevitably think – wait, is this for real? This is seriously a book? You’d be tempted to think it’s ONLY about cats falling, but come on – who’d be able to write 250+ pages on that? (Actually, I’ll read it if you try.) It’s about way more than just falling cats – it’s about science history, biology, mechanics, prep for space travel and even robotics.

And yes, cats. Even robot cats.

(It also has a tiny Egyptian poem about cats. And a lot of science-related feline anecdotes. I mean. If you were doubting. It’s precious!)

Written in a very fun tone, Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics delivers precisely what it promises you on the cover – sciencey stuff in regards to falling cats. You know how they always right themselves when they fall? I’m sure you’ve seen videos, even if you don’t have a Beloved Ruler of the House (I mean, cat) yourself. There’s a certain grace in how a cat slips, falls, and still walks away unscathed. No matter how silly the slip might have looked in the first place.

The thing is, this question has worried more than one scientist in their lifetimes, and for good reason. It’s not just a fun thing to think about – cats (and bunnies, for that matter) righting themselves after they’ve been dropped is no simple matter, and it can teach us a lot about biology, biomechanics and even give us ideas on robotics. After all, Nature usually has stuff figured out way before we’ve even looked into it. It had millions of years to find the best solutions!

Scientists And Cats… And The Bafflement?

As it turns out – a lot of big science names were into finding out how cats always land on their feet when dropped (Maxwell or Stokes, to name a few, but there were more.) They even dubbed it ‘cat-turning’! Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics doesn’t just talk about how cats turn, though. It gives you a little background on the scientists who worked on the problem (and there have been way more than one generation), as well as giving you a history of the main tool that allowed us to understand how it works – photography.

It also goes into a lot of tangents on related things. For example, fun fact – now I know why horses are often so weird in older paintings – before photography, many artists didn’t know how horses ran. Now you just look at it and scratch your head – something’s funny, but you don’t know what. Thanks to movies and documentaries, most of us have seen horses run slowed down on film or in anatomically accurate later paintings, and we instinctively know what it looks like. Things we take for granted!

What is pretty unbelievable (and quite cartoonish) is to imagine the official scientific community, outraged at the first photos of a falling cat and convening post haste to talk about how that could be possible, because it challenges known laws of physics at the time. Such an important development in science! (And what do you know – this actually happened.) You live and learn! The book is full of anecdotes like that, and they are certainly very interesting and amusing.

But Really, It’s Not Just About The Cats

Other than being just about cats and their ways to defy the cheekiness of gravity, this book goes into various tangents on men of science. It talks about the careers and histories of pretty much all the people who made any significant discoveries in the field of, ahem, cat-turning, and those people usually had other important pursuits – like, perfecting (or just inventing) photography, working on fluid dynamics, astronomy or other such stuff. So what you get is a sort of mishmash of history of science, connected by the oddest thing – the question of how the hell cats manage to land on their paws every time. It’s really quite curious! I have to admit that I learned a lot of interesting trivia when reading Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics. And the interesting thing is that it was done so naturally, it was as if I was having a pleasant conversation at an evening sit down with friends, and not actually reading nonfiction (although hey, I love nonfiction anyway.)

And yes, of course, there is a chapter dedicated to cats in space. Cats, science and space exploration – if you know anything about my reading tastes, then to you this should sound like the perfect recipe of a book for me. The space nerd and cat lover in me rejoices that specific movements for zero-g were developed based on how cats right themselves while falling. Doesn’t get much cooler than that.

Triggers

You might want to know that some scientists did harm cats during their experiments, and not just by dropping T_T thankfully, the book does not dwell on that much and is more or less free of other triggers, apart from a few mentions of animal vivisection, which, we must admit, the scientific history is full of, sadly.

Overall...

I really enjoyed Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics. Not only is it interesting, full of trivia and informative, but it also has quite a few photos – with or without cats. I thought they were a great addition to the book and it’s surprising how many the author managed to get permission to use, because they came from certain scientific societies, collections or museums. Huge respect for the author for writing this book! Not only is it a subject that I doubt many people could pull off, but to pull it off so well? Kudos, my friend, this was amazing!

I thank the publisher for gifting me a free copy of the ebook through NetGalley in exchange to my honest opinion. This has not affected my opinion.

Moral of the story: cats are amazing, majestic, mysterious, all-powerful beings who defy explanation and deserve our respect (and STOP throwing them off of things for science!)

Thanks to Yale University Press and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book!

You probably remember that derogatory phrase from college “rocks for jocks” (in my case it was something silly like “astronomy for poets”… taught, inexplicably, during daytime hours). Well, meet Math for Cat Lovers! Except, instead of dumbing things down or padding logic with fluff (couldn’t resist), Gregory J. Gbur’s Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics provides interesting history and background to the question of why cats land on their feet… and also investigates some of the flawed theories behind this phenomenon. Those interested in how scientific reputation and theory are formed with enjoy this book for the educational aspects; those who live alongside four-footed air-flipping felines will enjoy it for the images of cats it conjures. My favorite part actually occurs at the very beginning of the book, when Gbur conjures the publication of Jaws. He reminds readers that popular writing and film can have unintended consequences on animal populations (adoption rates skyrocketing for a pooch featured in a romantic comedy, for example). He doesn’t want his book to be complicit in these trends and encourages the scientific minded and cat lover alike not to drop cats!

It was a fascinating and engrossing read that kept me hooked till the last page.
I liked the style of writing and how the book is organised.
I learnt a lot and I strongly recommend this book.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.