This is an engaging book on a topic that concerns us all yet about which we remain strangely inarticulate - noise ... The book is a veritable tour de force - an entertaining and highly informative tour through the weird and wonderful (and often wacky and worrisome) world of noise. * Sean LEstrange, Dublin Review of Books * When is sound enjoyable? When is it an irritation? When is it actually dangerous? These are some of the themes of Mike Goldsmith's enjoyable history of sound out of place . * Wall Street Journal * A treasure trove of curious facts and anecdotes ... Discord is an extremely attractive and accessible, well-written and engaging book, an excellent starting place for readers who want to understand the physics and politics of noise. * Peter Pesic, American Scientist * [an] engaging, often entertaining, history of noise from prehistoric times to the present day * Andrew Robinson, The Lancet * an entertaining and informative history, written by someone with scholarly enthusiasm, which raises important issues and merits a wide readership. * Rupert Christiansen, Literary Review * [a] spectacularly good book. * New Scientist *