The Physics of Everyday Things

Oh dear. I took everything difficult in school, even calculus. Except physics. Now I am glad I didn't. I'd hoped this book might fill in the gap in my education, but, frankly, I couldn't understand much of this book. It might be because I'm not a science-y person. It might be because I don't understand the basic concepts. It might be because I'm too old. But I didn't get this book.

Here's a bit, so you can test this book for yourself:

‘A pendulum is a very simple device, consisting of a string, fixed at one end, with a mass, termed the “bob,” attached at the other end. The oscillations of the pendulum bob provide visual confirmation of one of the most important concepts in physics, that of the principle of conservation of energy: “kinetic energy,” the energy of motion, can only be converted to “potential energy” (the energy associated with a force acting on an object and the distance over which that force can cause motion) and vice versa....'

Huh?

I guess I was hoping for something a little more basic.