Before I go further, I think that a disclaimer is in order. I am a retired metallurgist/materials scientist, who has taken graduate as well as undergraduate physics and mechanics courses, and a lot of physical chemistry courses, so this book was of great interest to me.
This book is written in an entertaining style, if a bit snide at times and I feel that term "insultingly stupid" in the title is a bit hyperbolic and may be off putting to some potential readers, but these are very minor points that I choose to ignore. This is not a book that tries to dissect illogical plot points, continuity errors (such as a stain that magically disappears and then reappears from scene to scene) and filming errors (such as an extra wearing a college sweatshirt in ancient Rome). Rather, this book discusses the physics of movie scenes, such as people being propelled backwards when hit by gunfire, impossible battle scenes, artificial gravity that defies the laws of physics, igniting gasoline with lighted cigarettes, etc. For the most part, the physics being discussed is no more advanced than that covered in high school course or in the first few classes of a freshman college course. In addition, there is some physical chemistry concerned with the combustion of gasoline, and a smattering of relativity physics (but only in one chapter). The format is to describe the scene and then analyze it using basic physics (and chemistry in one instance). The details of the physics are discussed in separate gray background inserts, so that they can be skipped if desired (although, in my opinion, to do so eliminates the reason why one should read the book in the first place). These gray sections include equations, but not their derivation, or much of the background concerning their development. Thus, there are simple equations in the book and these equations are used to describe why a particular scene portrays incorrect physics.
I liked this book a lot - it made me think, as I had not even previously thought about the unphysical nature of many of the scenes that I had heretofore taken for granted. For instance, I never even stopped to consider if a person would actually be propelled backwards when hit by gunfire. A simple analysis using the conservation of momentum clearly shows that they would not. Likewise, in opposition to what is shown in many movies, the book explains why cigarettes will generally not ignite gasoline.
This book does much more than just explain why some movie scenes are physically incorrect. In some respects the book fills a gap between the academic world of physics and the greater world beyond as it dares to tackle some questions that physics texts shy away from. The book contains an excellent discussion of the JFK assassination (as part of the discussion of the Oliver Stone film JFK). This analysis illustrates the complexity of the problem and why a second shooter was not required to produce the images shown in the Zapruder film. The book also tackles the effects of pressure waves and intense temperatures on structures, and shows why the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the Twin Towers in New York collapsed as they did. These analyses provide the physics, metallurgy and structural analysis that counters the claims of conspiracy theorists. The book also provides an excellent analyses of the effects of gravity and the weightlessness that one feels in near earth orbit (as part of the discussion of Apollo 13). It clearly shows that the force provided by gravity is not zero in near earth orbit, but that it is the elimination of the normal force provided by contact with the earth that produces the effect of weightlessness.
This book is a very good adjunct to a physics text as it illustrates a lot of simple physics in a very entertaining manner. It is a great way for a student to hone their understanding of physics using the format of popular movies. I also see it as a great way for a teacher to engage students with the basics of physics (hopefully in class and not sprung upon them in a test).
I recommend this book to people who enjoy the TV program "Myth Busters", to those interested in physics and how it relates to everyday life and to those who want an entertaining book that makes you think. I definitely do not recommend this book to the physic-phobic or people who just want to watch a movie and do not care if the scenes in the movie defy the laws of physics and sometimes common sense.
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