Australian Nobel laureate Peter Doherty’s new book is designed to help the reader understand how science works, how to assess sci-entific claims, and generally ‘how to think better’ around taking an evidence-based view of the world. Timely stuff! The book is aimed at a general audience and is written in an accessible and very readable style. Its appendices on how to ‘check out a scientist’, and how to get a sense of the scientific literature and the peer review process, are very valuable insights into the fabric of the science enterprise. It is written by a scientist and appeals more to the head than the heart, but that is part of the point. Many of the examples come from either medical science or climate change, so they cover many of the most contentious issues today. The back cover of the book promises something to offend everybody – I’m not sure Doherty succeeds on this front, but he provides plenty of food for thought.