Funny thought experiments accompanied by Randall's typical stick-figure drawings.

The advice / ideas in 'How To' range from the vaguely practical-if-slightly-daft, to the completely and utterly impractical and possibly apocalyptic. And yet Randall Munroe will have you believing that if you just had enough money and resources, maybe even you could build a lava moat around your house. Every idea is taken to its 'logical' extreme, and 'How To' is full of proper science and maths, albeit being used to explain the kind of crazy scenarios which you'd only ever dream up when you're drunk. After all, equations don't care how 'stupid' your question is, it's just their job to answer if it will work or not (like figuring out how many miles to the gallon your house would get on the highway). If you like 'The Thing Explainer' and shows like 'QI', then you'll love this.

If you follow Randall Monroe’s website or have read his previous book then you’ll know what to expect. Clever, witty, smart, and funny... not words usually used to describe questions like ‘how to dig a hole’ or ‘how to land a plane’. That’s because usually two ways of doing something... the right way and the wrong way. This book looks at the third way... so bizarrely baroque and mind blowing that you wonder who would think of this.

I absolutely loved Randall Monroe's first two books, What If? and The Thing Explainer and had been so excited to read his new one. Unsurprisingly, it is completely brilliant. Munroe poses a simple task - how to dig a hole, how to make friends, how to be on time etc - and answers with the most complex, excessive, and I can only guess scientifically accurate explanations you've ever read. If you've ever wondered how many bottles of water it would take to fill the pool you've just dug, but also whether you should use a nuclear weapon to open those bottles, this is the book for you. Funny, fascinating, absurd, just wonderful. I feel like everyone would love this book.

I really enjoy Randall Monroe's online webcomic xkcd and previous book Thing Explainer, but neither are required prerequisites to enjoy How To. It will appeal to anyone who is curious and enjoys problem-solving - even though this is sort of a reverse of that: problematic, ridiculous "solutions" to everyday tasks. If you ever wonder why "that's just how things are done", and have wanted someone to show the working behind (for example) how to cross a river, land a plane, or move house, this is for you. It's a really accessible and frequently laugh-out-loud means of exploring the science (and logic) behind things we take for granted. The "how to" chapters each take surprising tangents, in a way that highlights how seemingly unconnected things are often linked in surprising ways - if you've ever seen the brilliant James Burke series Connections, this quite a lot like that, in book form. A celebration of curiosity and interdisciplinary thinking, and also the perfect "loo" book!