An annual Christmas bestseller An hilarious romp through the science of Christmas The perfect stocking-filler Roger Highfield is one of the UK's leading science journalists and broadcasters 'The book fizzes with fun' Anthony Daniels, Sunday Telegraph 'An entertaining and instructive alternative to the excess and boredom the season typically brings. By the end there is scarcely anything of Christmas past, present or future that one has not learned to see in a brighter light. The book makes a perfect present' A.C. Grayling, Financial Times

An extensively revised edition of a light-hearted scientific look at the rituals and icons of Christmas from such questions as the thermodynamics involved in cooking a turkey to the likely celestial candidates for the Star of Bethlehem and what happens to us physically when we over-indulge in alcohol. And there's a new chapter on how religion can help your entire life.

Roger Highfield is Science Editor of the Daily Telegraph. He broadcasts frequently on radio and television.