"The creator of the popular, extremely excellent and not a little nerdy webcomic 'xkcd' cleverly illustrates a guide of complicated solutions to simple tasks, thinking up Rube Goldbergian solutions to tasks as common as digging a hole."
--USA Today "[
How To] tackles problems from the mundane--such as how to move to a new house--to those that may trouble a mad scientist building her first lava moat. The solutions are often hilariously, and purposefully, absurd. Embedded in these solutions, however, is solid scientific, engineering, and experimental understanding . . . [for] anyone who appreciates science-based, but Rube Goldberg-esque, solutions to life's problems."
--Science Magazine
"How To is a pure delight, a salty-sweet mixture of hard science and bonkers whimsy."
--BoingBoing
"A witty, educational examination of 'unusual approaches to common tasks' . . . generously laced with dry humor . . . Munroe's comic stick-figure art is an added bonus. . . . Apart from generating laughter, the book also manages to achieve his serious objective: to get his audience thinking."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"An enjoyable treat for fans of logic puzzles, brain hacking, kaizen, mad science, and other forms of mental stimulation."
--Kirkus Reviews "Munroe (creator of the webcomic xkcd;
What If?; Thing Explainer) creates another fun series of questions and answers that explore forces, properties, and natural phenomena through pop-culture scenarios . . . With illustrated formulas that humorously explain the science behind Munroe's conjectures, this book is sure to entertain and educate thinkers from high school on up."
--Library Journal "
How To is a gleefully nerdy hypothetical instruction book for armchair scientists of all ages."
--Booklist