Richard Webb, New Scientist Books of the Year, called it "a delight of a book" that was "enriching, insightful, varied, and far from a traditional science read." Carlo Rovelli is an inspiration for his inventive rigour, vivid humour, and exquisite language. Andrea Wagner With his observations on physics, history, and humanity, one of the most influential minds of our time and the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics changes the way we perceive the world. Carlo Rovelli welcomes us on a journey through science, history, philosophy, and politics in this collection of writings, the journal of an intelligent perpetually on the move. Rovelli follows his curiosity in this collection of writings. These essays, which were written with his customary lucidity and wit, cover a wide range of topics, including Newton's alchemy, Einstein's errors, Nabokov's butterflies,to Dante's cosmology, from travels in Africa to the consciousness of an octopus, from mind-altering psychedelic substances to the meaning of atheism. Charming, pithy and elegant, this book is the perfect gateway to the universe of one of the most influential scientists of our age.