SOUND

A compendium on the science and history of sound.

Fadeeva’s work is chock-full of clear explanations, suggestions for experimenting with sound, elegant infographics, and rich vocabulary, all defined in context. Consider her lucid description of sound, translated from Russian by Traer: “Have you seen how dropping a stone into water creates waves? Similarly, sound waves travel away from the source of the sound (the ‘stone’), but instead of seeing these waves, we hear them.” This type of crystalline image helps propel a narrative that prizes curiosity and a grasp of the nuances of sound. In one spread, Fadeeva unpacks the difference between birdsong and a bird call, followed by a collagelike illustration of different species on a tree, detailing what each sounds like. Animal sounds, readers learn, include fish that “squeak, knock, honk, cluck, and chirp” underwater, where “sound also moves four times more quickly.” After pondering the 7,000 languages that humans use to communicate, the author wisely pivots, exploring how we do so without sound. She then makes an imaginative leap into the past to consider sound and music from the prehistoric era to the Middle Ages with its noisy suits of armor to the modern age of TVs and electrical appliances. She examines the harmony of orchestras and the evolution of recording sound and includes a fantastic spread about the way animals’ sounds are perceived differently all over the world. Characters are diverse.

Brimming with cogent insights, delightful visuals, and infectious wonder.