A rich guide to the science of imagination also digs into art

The Shape of Things Unseen
Adam Zeman (Bloomsbury Circus)

Just imagine! No, seriously, just imagine: an apple, perhaps, or a cartful of apples, or even a kingdom in which monstrous apples are fought by oranges on horseback. Our imaginations are capable of this – and much more. They are responsible for films, novels and paintings, as well as buildings, computers and governments. They are unfathomably powerful.

And yet the imaginings themselves are gossamer – hard to hold onto, hard to pin down. I might be able to describe the apple I am thinking of, but what about the feeling I can…