Survivor's Science in the Desert; Survivor's Science on an Island; Survivor's Science in the Rainforest; Survivor's Science at Sea

Just the job if you find yourself stranded on a desert island or contemplating a journey through the rainforest, you might think. The premise for this activity-based series is that you can learn science and geography by exploring the skills you would need to survive in different environments. But before you set sail with the volume on the Sea tucked into your oilskins, take heed. There are so many annoying errors and half-truths that it's hard to trust the science content. Sextants do not measure the height of the sun, and astronavigation is now so rearely used it has become something of an arcane science preserved only by the oldest salts. There is no mention here of radar or EPIRBs (emergency position indicating rescue beacons), only a laughably outdated photo of a GPS receiver (the equivalent of an early 1990s clunky mobile phone). Manufacturers of such equipment would happily have provided free photos for reporduction or for reference, which would certainly have helped in the case of the bizarre artwork of foul-weather clothing by an illustrator who has clearly never seen a self-inflating lifejacket or known that attaching a flare gun to clothing is about as safe as strapping a firework to your arm. So much for survival skills. The practical activities are offputting in the extreme, with grey tupperware containers photographed against white backgrounds and crumpled cardboard boxes. They range from infant-level projects using modelling clay to complex circuits requiring electric motors, switches and mini crocodile clips. A good idea appallingly executed.