Featured on PDR in the collection Popular Scientific Recreations (1883 edition)

If the experience of wonder can lead to either a suspension of rational thought or toward a form of curiosity that fuels the search for knowledge, it is, without question, the second path that French scientist and balloonist Gaston Tissandier espouses in his Les Récréations Scientifiques. This comprehensive, 800-page textbook covers everything from the basic laws of motion and spectroscopy to botany and new forms of transit. Throughout, Tissandier weaves personal anecdotes and DIY experiments together with explanations of natural phenomena to infuse pleasure and amusement into the process of scientific learning.