| 9780393239799 |
| (hardcover) |
| 0393239799 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Penrose Library | Book | 534. C878S | Nonfiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Ruth Holley Library | Book | 534. C878S | Nonfiction | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Trevor Cox is on a hunt for the sonic wonders of the world. A renowned expert who engineers classrooms and concert halls, Cox has made a career of eradicating bizarre and unwanted sounds. But after an epiphany in the London sewers, Cox now revels in exotic noises--creaking glaciers, whispering galleries, stalactite organs, musical roads, humming dunes, seals that sound like alien angels, and a Mayan pyramid that chirps like a bird. With forays into archaeology, neuroscience, biology, and design, Cox explains how sound is made and altered by the environment, how our body reacts to peculiar noises, and how these mysterious wonders illuminate sound's surprising dynamics in everyday settings--from your bedroom to the opera house. The Sound Book encourages us to become better listeners in a world dominated by the visual and to open our ears to the glorious cacophony all around us.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a world dominated by sight, it's worth asking: "What fascinating sounds are out there if we just 'open' our ears?" British acoustic engineer Cox, an interior acoustics expert and enthusiastic collector of exotic noises, takes readers on a quest for "the most surprising, unexpected, and sublime sounds-the sonic wonders of the world." Concert halls, classrooms, and open-plan office space illustrate the acoustics of "dead" rooms, whose soft furnishings absorb noise, as opposed to "live" rooms, where reverberating sounds linger in a "bloom" to enhance tone. Cox explores reverberations in caves, churches, oil storage tanks, and the vast emptiness of an old concrete reservoir, while Neolithic burial chambers, Stonehenge, "chirping" Mayan pyramids, and classical Greek theaters give insight into how ancient cultures exploited and enhanced sound. He also looks into how the varied sounds of nature offer insight into human moods as well as animal lifestyles, from the killer shockwaves created by snapping shrimp, to the frequently disastrous impact of human-made noises on whales and dolphins. From the invigorating hiss of a waterfall to the bizarrely metallic twang of rocks striking a frozen lake, Cox reminds us not only of the sonic marvels we often miss, but also how those sounds affect us. 35 illus. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
As a seasoned architectural acoustics specialist, Cox has made a living out of retrofitting theaters and classrooms to minimize unwanted echoes and other sonic distortions. While visiting an unusually reverberant London sewer, Cox had a sudden epiphany that spawned a new hobby somewhat at odds with his chosen profession: seeking out and cataloging unusual noises. One result of his research is this enchanting guidebook to the sonic wonders of the world, in which he analyzes such aural anomalies as humming sand dunes and chirping Mayan pyramids. Without getting lost in arcane scientific minutiae, Cox provides several easily digested lessons in acoustics on his way to describing the many sonic marvels he visited and studied around the world, from the famous whispering gallery of London's St. Paul's Cathedral to the melancholy underwater songs produced by bearded seals near the Svalbard archipelago in Norway. Interspersed with witty anecdotes and surprising observations on the nature of hearing, Cox's work will give readers a new appreciation for both the odd and the ordinary noises that form the soundtrack of our daily lives.--Hays, Carl Copyright 2010 Booklist
Choice Review
Hearing is the most delicate of senses. The tiny bones of the middle ear, responsible for sound transmission, are able to "vibrate by less than a thousandth of the diameter of a hydrogen atom." The ear is so sensitive it can produce the unfortunate condition tinnitus, a ringing in the ears when there is no external source, experienced by between 5 percent and 15 percent of the population. This epic and quirky account explores some of the most unusual sonic experiences. The loudest sound in human history was the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, audible to a British sea captain 3,000 miles away. Sewers, abandoned storage containers, sand dunes, and Britain's shyest bird, the bittern, provide a cacophony of unusual sonic wonders. One of the noisiest places turns out to be the International Space Station, where the astronauts have to wear ear plugs most of the day. But the everyday world of sound is equally fascinating, and the journey ends with the rustles of trees as Cox (acoustic engineering, Univ. of Salford, UK) cycles to work. Cox does a great job of investigating and explaining sounds. This book makes one want to get out and hear afresh. --Trevor John Pinch, Cornell University
Library Journal Review
Cox (Sonic Wonderland) expertly engineers buildings for acoustic perfection but is also enamored of unusual noises (such as whispering galleries, stalactite organs, and a Mayan pyramid that chirps like a bird). The author explores elements of archaeology, neuroscience, biology, and design as he attempts to explain how sound is made, how our bodies react to different noises, and the dynamics of sound in various environments. This is an utterly absorbing work, a call for us to become better listeners despite the flood of visual imagery in our daily lives. Jonathan Cowley is a vital, lively cog in this effort. VERDICT Recommended.-Kelly Sinclair, Temple P.L., TX (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Prologue | p. 13 |
| 1 The Most Reverberant Place in the World | p. 27 |
| 2 Ringing Rocks | p. 58 |
| 3 Barking Fish | p. 87 |
| 4 Echoes of the Past | p. 114 |
| 5 Going round the Bend | p. 145 |
| 6 Singing Sands | p. 178 |
| 7 The Quietest Places in the World | p. 208 |
| 8 Placing Sound | p. 236 |
| 9 Future Wonders | p. 270 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 279 |
| Notes | p. 281 |
| Index | p. 313 |
