A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar

The object of The Guide to Science was to present answers to over 2000 questions about common phenomena.), clouds, dew, and rainbows. Brewer intended his book to be intelligible to a child, since children might often ask the questions he sought to answer, but not so simple as to offend the scientific. deals with several more nebulous questions, including questions about sleep and dreaming. Within each part, the different chapters break the questions and answers up into subject areas organised thematically. ==History==

The Guide to Science had its origin in a habit of Brewer's of making and saving notes from his reading. He set his notes out in a question-and-answer or catechism style, leaving a space for answers when they were obtained. but other sources suggest 1841 A second edition of the book was published in 1848 and two more in 1849. Several translations of the book were made including a Spanish translation in 1858 and two French translations. The French translations were themselves translated into Swedish in 1858 and into Portuguese in 1900. An edited version of the book by Robert Evans Peterson was published in the United States in 1851 as Familiar Science; or, the Scientific Explanation of Common Things, with a revised edition following in 1863. These versions were edited and rearranged in order to make them more suitable for American pupils and were used as a text-book by schools in Pennsylvania and Brooklyn. Brewer wrote to Peterson expressing his satisfaction at the rearrangement but nevertheless prepared a revised edition of his own which was published in the US in 1864. This edition was digitised and republished by the University of Michigan Library in 2005 following a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as part of Making of America IV: the American voice, 1850–1877. ==Religious perspectives==

Brewer said that he consulted "the most approved modern authors" and submitted additions to "the revision of gentlemen of acknowledged reputation for scientific attainments". Nevertheless, religious rather than scientific answers to certain questions are prevalent in the book, particularly answers inferring divine design. Brewer suggested that the reason ice is lighter than water, expanding as it freezes, is because it has been "wisely ordained by God that water shall be an exception to a very general rule". Brewer was ordained as a deacon and later as a priest and wished to provide a religious framework for science. He and many other Christian populist science writers of the time presented religious themes and were able to keep them relevant to modern science in the mind of the public even after the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859. Part of Brewer's approach in promoting his ideas was to avoid discussing religious perspectives until about a third of the way into the book so that the introduction of these ideas would appear more natural. ==Reception and legacy==

A review of the second edition of The Guide to Science was published by Punch magazine in 1850. These questions and their answers became the nucleus of ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', first published in 1870. and remains a classic reference work. ==Notes==