Yakov Perelman is to recreational physics as Martin Gardner is to recreation mathematics. Mr. Perelman. As the author said - The aim of this book is not so much to give you some fresh knowledge, as to help you "learn what you already know". The book is an easy read but hard to stop once you start reading. The book covers the topic of mechanics, light, sound, heat . In the foreword, the book’s author describes the contents as “conundrums, brain-teasers, entertaining anecdotes, and unexpected comparisons,” adding, “I have quoted extensively from Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Mark Twain and other writers, because, besides providing entertainment, the fantastic experiments these writers describe may well serve as instructive illustrations at physics classes.” The book’s topics included how to jump from a moving car, and why, “according to the law of buoyancy, we would never drown in the Dead Sea.” Ideas from this book are still used by science teachers today. Yakov Isidorovich Perelman died in the siege of Leningrad in 1942.

This book was extremely popular in India during 1970 till 1990. MIR publishers distributed highly subsidized copies of many popular science books in India along with MIR's soviet propaganda books. After fall of USSR the MIR publishers availability stopped completely. This was one of most bought popular science books among my generation. Considering the content along with the style and illustration the book has, the book can be used today to really learn what you already know.