Biography: science, technology and medicine Books

Book SynopsisSOLVING FOR WHY chronicles one man's journey to find the answer to the biggest of all life's questions: "Why?" Following a traumatic car accident, Dr. Shrime-the child of Lebanese immigrants fleeing a civil war, who later became a successful practicing surgeon in Boston-found himself compelled to change the course of his life, determined to find meaning and satisfaction even if it meant diverting from America's idea of "success." Featuring stories, insights, and research from his own exceptional life and work, SOLVING FOR WHY is the story of Dr. Shrime's search for-and discovery of-lifelong fulfillment. Now a global surgeon operating on a hospital ship docked off the coast of West Africa and one of the few global experts on surgery in low- and middle-income countries, Dr. Shrime seeks to impart the wisdom of the lessons he's learned over the course of his search for a life of true contentment. In the tradition of Dr. Paul Farmer's To Repair the World, Dr. Atul Gawande's Better, and Dr. Michele Harper's The Beauty in Breaking, SOLVING FOR WHY combines personal stories with deep, thoughtful research into the challenges of working in modern medicine in the 21st century and the commodification of work in America.A story of discovery and transformation, SOLVING FOR WHY seeks to help readers answer the "why" of their own lives and ultimately find joy outside the status quo.

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Book SynopsisIn his own words, modern-day explorer Dr. Michael Manyak transports thrill seekers to the farthest reaches of the earth, from the dense forests of the Congo Basin to the icy expanses of Antarctica. While many may crave adventures around the globe, they are unlikely to experience anywhere near the many escapades that Dr. Michael Manyak has had during his prolific career. From his tropical medical training in the Philippines to his stints as the expedition doctor on hikes deep in the Andes and in a submersible to the Titanic wreck site, the author has made the combination of medicine and adventure the dominant theme throughout his life. His travels have taken him to nearly every continent, where he has encountered endangered and rare species, including camels, snakes, elephants, and more. He has operated on rhinos, rare big cats, gorillas, and even a huge boar hog. Some of his encounters were dangerous to himself and others. He orchestrated evacuations from battle zones in Iraq and was caught in a coup in a dangerous third-world country. He helped rescue nearly 100 victims from a sinking ship.On occasion, Manyak has been afforded a ringside seat for historical events, and other times, he has been thrust into unusual circumstances by chance. He witnessed the Pentagon attack on 9/11. He managed the healthcare of high-ranking government officials in the United States and other countries. Along the way, he encounters quite a cast of characters, some of them household names and others better left in the dusty corners of history.Take Two Aspirin and Call Me at 20,000 Feet encapsulates the incredible quests the author experienced on the road to becoming an academic cancer surgeon and explorer in the lab and the field. 

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE TIMES BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR PRIZE AT THE CROSS BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2017In the spring of 1901 a teenager stood on top of a hill, gazed out in wonderment at the Australian landscape and decided he wanted to be a mountaineer. Two decades later, the same man stood in a blizzard beneath the summit of Mount Everest, within sight of his goal to be the first to stand on the roof of the world. George Finch was at the highest point ever reached by a human being and only his decision to save the life of his stricken companion stopped him from reaching the summit.George Finch was a rebel of the first order, a man who dared to challenge the British establishment who disliked his independence, background, long hair and lack of an Oxbridge education. Despite this, he not only became one of the world's greatest alpinists, earning the grudging respect of his rival George Mallory, but pioneered the use of the artificial oxygen that enabled Everest to finally be conquered thirty years after his own attempt. A renowned scientist, a World War I hero and a Fellow of the Royal Society, involved in the development of some of the twentieth century's most important inventions, his skills helped save London from burning to the ground during the Blitz. Finch's public accomplishments, however, were shadowed by his complicated private life and his fraught relationship with his son, the actor Peter Finch.Acclaimed biographer Robert Wainwright restores George Finch to his rightful place in history with this remarkable tribute to one of the twentieth century's most eccentric anti-heroes.'One of the two best Alpinists of his time - Mallory was the other.' The TimesTrade Review[A] compelling biography... As a study of a man whose greatness we would do well to remember and applaud, it sparkles. * Independent *Finch emerges from the pages of Robert Wainwright's The Maverick Mountaineer as a keen explorer of geographical, professional and romantic terrain... Wainwright chronicles it all with aplomb... Wainwright has done a fine job of rescuing his protagonist from the footnotes of climbing history. He has restored the reputation of a man whose achievements were frequently overshadowed by the romantic fate of Mallory and the later triumph of Edmund Hillary. We rediscover a climber who, as Finch phrased it, had "the craft at his finger-ends". * Daily Telegraph *Finch was the best technical climber of his time, and he reached farther up Everest than anyone had done before - stopping only to carry a novice companion to safety. Few Western climbers have contributed as much...The best passages... are those that describe the battle of scientific progress against entrenched snobbery - a fight that may have cost Finch the chance to stand on top of the world, but ought to be remembered. * The Economist *Robert Wainwright has conjured up the rasp of crampons on sheet ice, the taste of peaches eaten from the tin, and the bitchiness endemic among the frozen-bearded tribe of climbers and explorers * Spectator *Fascinating * Sydney Morning Herald *Tells the story of a difficult, brilliant man whose remarkable achievements were overshadowed by those of the better-known Mallory and Sir Edmund Hillary. * Daily Mail *A marvellously entertaining story that at times resembles a glossy television period drama. * Daily Express on Sheila *The charm of Wainwright's biography is that he makes us see what an engaging, admirable and sometimes heroic quality it is to be a life-enhancer like Sheila. -- Jane Shilling, Daily Mail on SheilaThis splendid biography evokes the glamour of a vanished age. * Mail on Sunday on Sheila *Wainwright's extremely readable style is largely linear, with tantalising references to future events. * Yorkshire Post *The Maverick Mountaineer is a skilfully written books which contains much assiduous research. The narrative is thoughtfully enhanced by the use of diaries and letters from the Finch family archive. * Climb Magazine *

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Book Synopsis“The Pain Project is ironically full of pleasure: on every page is another generous, original insight into this most intimate human subject.”—NAOMI KLEIN, author of Doppelganger“The Pain Project is a beautiful, humane, thoughtful inquiry into the challenge of living with chronic pain and how Stanley and Paradis navigate its impact on their lives. This is a tough subject but a joyful book; it takes on a daunting topic with heart and humor and determination. It’s wonderful.”—SUSAN ORLEAN, author of The Orchid Thief and The Library BookTen years after her husband’s catastrophic injury, author Kara Stanley embarks with him on a journey to understand his chronic pain and find pathways into joy and relief.Kara and her husband, Simon, are at a desperate crossroads. In 2008, Simon fell off a scaffold, causing severe injuries to his brain and spinal cord. He made a

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Book Synopsis**SHORTLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE****A GUARDIAN SCIENCE BOOK OF THE YEAR**‘Riveting … invites comparison to Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’NatureThe epic and controversial story of a major breakthrough in cell biology that led to the conquest of rubella and other devastating diseases.Until the late 1960s, tens of thousands of children suffered crippling birth defects if their mothers had been exposed to rubella, popularly known as German measles, while pregnant. There was no vaccine and little understanding of how the disease devastated foetuses. In June 1962, a young biologist in Philadelphia produced the first safe, clean cells that made possible the mass-production of vaccines against many common childhood diseases. Two years later, in the midst of a German measles epidemic, his colleague developed the vaccine that would one day effectively wipe out rubella for good. This vaccine - and others made with those cells - have since protected hundreds of millions of people worldwide, the vast majority of them preschool children. Meredith Wadman’s account of this great leap forward in medicine is a fascinating and revelatory read.Trade ReviewIt is a thriller - a beautifully researched and paced thriller - and is destined to be a classic piece of science writing in its navigation of the nexus of personality, research and ethics. -- Edmund de Waal, author of The Hare with the Amber EyesAn extraordinary story and Wadman is to be congratulated, not just for uncovering it but for relaying it in such a pacy, stimulating manner. This is a first-class piece of science writing' -- Robin McKie * Observer *Extraordinary...The Vaccine Race is a tremendous feat of research and synthesis, its lucid technical explanations combined with forays into the business politics of big pharma, and portraits of the scientists whose work has saved untold lives. -- Steven Poole * Daily Telegraph *Marvellous…fascinating…Wadman doesn’t shy away from some very difficult and unpleasant truths…The Vaccine Race bears comparison with Richard Rhodes’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb. I can pay no higher compliment to Meredith Wadman and her fine book -- Manjit Kumar * The Literary Review *Wadman's brilliantly researched book unfolds like a thriller, but asks some tough ethical questions along the way. -- Sophie Ratcliffe, Associate Professor of English Literature, Oxford UniversityA riveting tale of scientific infighting, clashing personalities, sketchy ethics and the transformation of cell biology from a sleepy scientific backwater to a high-stakes arena where vast fortunes are made. * Wall Street Journal *Riveting... invites comparison to Rebecca Skloot's 2007 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks... Wadman stands back from the sources and material to guide the reader through a narrative that is no less captivating. * Nature *Epically readable - superb -- Chris van TullekenMeticulously researched... a success story for grown-ups... plenty of ammunition for those arguing with family or Facebook friends who have swallowed the conspiracy theories of the anti-vaccination community -- Sheena Cruickshank * New Scientist *Superb ... It is a tale – told with pace and authority – of theft, evasion, deceit and obdurate overregulation -- Robin McKie * Observer, Books of the Year *Meticulously researched and carefully crafted . . . The Vaccine Race, is an enlightening telling of the development of vaccines in the mid-20th century. . . . an intelligent and entertaining tome . . . [and] a comprehensive portrait of the many issues faced in the race to develop vaccines. * Science *Explains complex science in methodical detail. * Mail on Sunday *Excellent... an important story, well told * The Scotsman *The Vaccine Race is an important read—for scientists, politicians, physicians, parents and everyone interested in how the world of medical research works... it is so important to read this book, to see how science works and how politics can and does interfere with what science does best and what is best for us. * Huffington Post *An exemplary piece of medical journalism, and Wadman makes strikingly clear the human costs of medical developments as well as the roles of politics and economics. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisA revisionist biography of Andreas Vesalius - the father of modern anatomy - as deeply shaped by Renaissance culture. In 1543 the young and ambitious physician Andreas Vesalius published one of the most famous books in the history of medicine, On the Fabric of the Human Body. While we often think of dissection as destroying the body, Vesalius believed that it helped him understand how to construct the human body. In this book, Sachiko Kusukawa shows how Vesalius's publication emerged from the interplay of Renaissance art, printing technology, and classical tradition. She challenges the conventional view of Vesalius as a proto-modern, anti-authoritarian father of anatomy through a more nuanced account of how Vesalius exploited cultural and technological developments to create a big and beautiful book that propelled him into imperial circles and secured his enduring fame.

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Book SynopsisIn this compellingly written and meticulously researched new book, Professor Brett Kahr draws upon extensive unpublished archival sources and upon his four decades of oral history interviews to paint fascinating portraits of many of the icons of mental health. Hidden Histories of British Psychoanalysis: From Freud’s Death Bed to Laing’s Missing Tooth includes detailed accounts of Kahr’s interviews with such noted figures as Enid Balint, Marion Milner, Ronald Laing, John Bowlby and his wife, Ursula Longstaff Bowlby, as well as numerous members of Donald Winnicott’s family. Framed as a series of glimpses into the early history of British psychoanalysis, Kahr explores how the German-speaking Sigmund Freud learned how to psychoanalyse English-speaking patients; how Enid Eichholz (the future wife of Michael Balint) pioneered couple psychoanalysis in the wake of the Second World War; how Donald Winnicott treated “The Piggle” in the midst of his own health crises; and how Masud Khan degenerated from a clinical sage into an anti-Semite. A breathtaking combination of interviews, reminiscences, and well-documented scholarship, this book provides a gripping overview of many of the key figures in British psychoanalysis, all of whom made unparalleled contributions to the mental health profession, and whose lives and careers deserve to be visited and revisited.Trade Review‘Few books are simultaneously informative, deep, playful, and pleasurable to read. Combining humility and respect for his subjects with creative audacity and understated eloquence, Brett Kahr’s Hidden Histories of British Psychoanalysis is a rare book of such sort. The two words in the title that give away the author’s passion and craft are “Hidden” (with its impish promise to unveil secrets) and “Histories” (with its sombre acknowledgment of the myriad, divergent sources, choices, and agendas in writing history). Based upon laborious archival research and personal interviews with the London glitterati of psychoanalysis (e.g. John Bowlby, Marion Milner, Enid Balint, Pearl King, R. D. Laing), Kahr offers us a penetrating glimpse into the post-Freudian developments in British psychoanalysis, while introducing us to the strengths and solidities of his dramatis personae as well as to their whims, idiosyncrasies, and occasional madnesses. This is a great contribution to our professional literature indeed!’ -- Salman Akhtar, MD, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College, and Training and Supervising Analyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia‘This is a very sneaky book. Ostensibly it is a series of tales from the history of Anglophone psychoanalysis in the twentieth century. But, in reality, it is a readable, often funny, account by the best historian of psychoanalysis of his generation, Brett Kahr. As much autobiography as historical account, it shows what happens when a brilliant mind meets an intractable object. The essay on the young student Brett Kahr and R. D. Laing’s missing tooth is itself worth the price of the volume, and has the possibility of becoming the classic essay on the pitfalls of celebrity.’ -- Sander L. Gilman, PhD, Distinguished Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at Emory University‘A self-described “clinical historian”, a prolific writer and biographer of Donald Winnicott, with a passion for the rigorous rendering of historical detail and the healing of the human soul’s most intractable sufferings, Brett Kahr has made a reputation for himself as the eminent narrator and in depth analyst of the vagaries and some of the most protracted motifs and aspects that animate the legacy of psychoanalysis and that of its leading and lesser-known figures (the “elderly psychoanalysts”, as he lovingly calls them, whose homes, libraries, and couches he recalls visiting here). ‘The present collection of essays adds a series of important chapters to this ongoing and captivating lifelong project. In an at once engaging and well-documented fashion, Kahr takes us back to the contingent elements that, together, gave psychoanalysis in the United Kingdom its inescapable force and necessary radiance. From Freud’s unknown English teacher, to the growth of his English speaking clinical practice, and his remarkable Anglicisation, via the untold sources and adventures related to Winnicott as filtered through his marital life, up to the contributions made by a host of significant but much less-known theorists and practitioners, from “unassuming icons” to “bad boys” in British child, adult, and couple analysis, Kahr’s unique book traces overlooked names and cases, concepts and practices, that have not received the attention they deserve in what he calls “psychoanalytical historiography”. ‘Kahr is attentive to and appreciative of the networks, both familial and professional, within which great thinkers produce their psychoanalytic ideas and do their clinical work. He relies not only on his interviews with his heroes and heroines, but also on conversations with family members, colleagues, patients, secretaries, and medical doctors alike. In a non- judgemental way, he, at times tenderly, also registers the errors, deviations, and even perversions of these great figures. There is a moving resemblance between the fragility of “psychoanalytical psycho-biographical reconstructions”, including the author’s own, and the carefully observed deterioration and bodily disintegration of the heroes and heroines portrayed as they age or fall ill: Freud’s skin, Khan’s cancer, Milner’s loss of hearing, Laing’s falling tooth, and more. Kahr is acutely aware of his heroes and heroines falling into pieces, disintegrating, even shattering “into million pieces”, and, as a clinical historian, seeks to put them back together again, precisely by finding meaning in their history. ‘There is a dark side to these stories, therefore, which the psychoanalyst in Kahr believes one needs to explore, as only the deep probing of such “shadows” yields understanding and the possibility of avoiding their repetition. If the psychoanalytic work turns ghosts into ancestors, Kahr, for his part, does the same with corpses. Indeed, his previous work on the schizophrenic feeling of bodily disintegration keeps him close to the material reality of bodies, odors, sounds, and textures, which are evinced in each one of the remarkable encounters collected in this partly oral history, which relies as much on countless hours spent in the archives. ‘Kahr’s Hidden Histories is a labor of love that in its caring attentiveness humanises the great figures on whose shoulders it stands. Highly readable and greatly enticing, this latest addition to the Freud Museum’s and Karnac’s promising new series, will speak to professionals, historians, and the wider interested reading public alike.’ -- Orna Ophir, PhD, Associate Director of The DeWitt Wallace Institute for Psychiatry, Weill-Cornell Medical College, New York, and a Member of the History of Psychoanalysis Committee of the International Psychoanalytical Association‘Using storytelling and clinical and research tools, Brett Kahr’s sorcery brings to life several well-known personalities in the British psychoanalytic panoply – its “superstars” as well as its “bad boys”. While profoundly respectful, Kahr’s thoughtful critique of rigorously sourced archival papers, oral history research, and personal interviews rewards the readers with much wisdom and inspiration from foundational figures of psychoanalysis.’ -- Joan Raphael-Leff, PhD, Retired Professor of Psychoanalysis, and Leader of the Academic Faculty of Psychoanalytic Research at the Anna Freud Centre'I fear I have done Professor Kahr a disservice by sharing so many spoilers from his magnificent book. But in my defence, I have shared them with you as an encouragement for you to read it yourself. [...] His commitment to this project shines from his loving descriptions of Marion Milner’s home (it needs a good clean) to his open-minded inquisitiveness into the potential motivations of those like Khan or Laing who can so easily be dismissed as heroes or villains. [...] In the words of this text Brett communicates his deep enthusiasm for the hidden histories that, due to his diligence, are no longer hidden. After all, this book is the result of his exhaustive archival research alongside the interviews he personally conducted.' -- Aaron Balick, Psychology: Applied, 2023'In this charming book of essays, Professor Brett Kahr exercises his passion and skill in historical storytelling to contextualise the personal and professional history of various aspects of 20th century British psychoanalysis. [...] [This book], is a unique and welcome addition to the literature. Derived from countless interviews (over 900 alone into studies on Winnicott, including fifty of his former patients), and from devoted explorations of archival material as well as self-reflection on his various meetings, the tone of the book ranges from the anecdotal to the historiographic, and is very enjoyable [...] Psychoanalysis at its very core embraces the hidden in our histories. It is a joy to read this book which embraces the hidden histories in our psychoanalysis.' -- Helena Michaelson, Psychodynamic PracticeTable of ContentsIntroduction: My Love of Deceased Psychoanalysts PART I: SIGMUND FREUD AS AN ENGLISHMAN Chapter 1: “Zooming” in Old Vienna: How Sigmund Freud Became an English-Speaking Psychoanalyst Chapter 2: Freud’s London Death Bed: Notes on the “Invalid Couch” at Maresfield Gardens PART II: UNPUBLISHED WINNICOTTIANA. Chapter 3: Donald Winnicott’s Wives: From Alice Buxton Taylor to Clare Britton Chapter 4: “The Piggle” Family Papers: Unpublished Archival Gems Regarding Winnicott’s Most Iconic Case PART III: DR. AND MRS. BOWLBY. Chapter 5: “Half-Baked Pseudo-Scientific Rubbish”: How John Bowlby Reinvented Child Psychiatry Chapter 6: Ursula Longstaff Bowlby: The Creative Muse of Attachment Theory PART IV: TWO TRULY UNASSUMING ICONS. Chapter 7: Breakfast with Marion Milner: Reminiscences of the World’s Oldest Psychoanalyst Chapter 8: Enid Eichholz Balint: The Birth of Couple Psychoanalysis in England PART V: THE BAD BOYS OF BRITISH PSYCHOANALYSIS. Chapter 9: Rajah on the Couch: The Magnificence and Misery of Masud Khan Chapter 10: R.D. Laing’s Missing Tooth: The Secret Roots of Genius and Madness Conclusion: How to Be Intimate with a Corpse: The Role of Psychoanalytical Historiography Acknowledgements References Index

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Book SynopsisIn 1880, Griffith Evans, an army veterinary surgeon in India, made the seminal discovery that blood parasites then universally considered benign were pathogenic. Spurned by peers and colleagues, his conclusions from experiments with diseased horses were acknowledged by Koch and Pasteur, but it took many years before his achievement received general recognition. The son of a farmer near Tywyn, Meirionnydd, Evans was commissioned as a veterinary officer in the Royal Artillery. He was first posted to Canada where, in his spare time, he qualified in medicine. An irrepressible adventurer, he visited North America during the Civil War, meeting Abraham Lincoln and touring the Union front line.Evans's talent for engagement with people and cultures characterised his life in Canada and in India. During a long and productive retirement in north Wales, he immersed himself in local and national affairs. At his centenary in 1935, Evans received the accolades of his profession, community and fami

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Book SynopsisIn 1660, at the age of thirteen, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) began her study of butterfly metamorphosis-years before any other scientist published an accurate description of the process. Later, Merian and her daughter ventured thousands of miles from their home in the Netherlands to the rainforests of South America seeking new and amazing insects to observe and illustrate. Years after her death, Merian's accurate and beautiful illustrations were used by scientists, including Carl Linnaeus, to classify species, and today her prints and paintings are prized by museums around the world. More than a dozen species of plants and animals are named after Merian. The first Merian biography written for ages 10 and up, this book will enchant budding scientists and artists alike. Readers will be inspired by Merian's talent, curiosity, and grit and will be swept up in the story of her life, which was adventurous even by today's standards. With its lively text, quotations from Merian's own study book, and fascinating sidebars on history, art, and science, this volume is an ideal STEAM title for readers of all ages and interests.Trade Review"A visually stunning, well-researched biography of a woman artist and scientist."--School Library Journal "Young readers will be inspired by Merian's talent, curiosity, and grit as they become swept up in the story of her life . . . With its lively text, beautiful illustrations, quotations from Merian's own study book, and fascinating sidebars on history, art, and science, "Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer" is an extraordinary and very highly recommended addition to family, elementary school, and community library biography collections for children." --Midwest Book Review

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Book SynopsisThe life story of Jeanne Simons, whose own autism informed her pioneering work with autistic children. Jeanne Simons devoted her career as a social worker and educator to the study, treatment, and care of children with autism. In 1955, she established the Linwood Children's Center in Ellicott City, Maryland, one of the first schools dedicated to children with autism. Her Linwood Model, developed there, was widely adopted and still forms the basis for a variety of autism intervention techniques. Incrediblyalthough unknown at the timeJeanne was herself autistic. Behind the Mirror reveals the remarkable tale of this trailblazer and how she thought, felt, and experienced the world around her. With moving immediacy, Jeanne tells her life story to developmental psychologist, friend, and collaborator Sabine Oishi. Jeanne's unique experience is supplemented by commentary from Dr. Oishi, who explains the importance of key biographical details and fills in additional information about the diagTrade ReviewThis is a book that richly rewards those who read it.—Andrew N Williams, British Society for the History of MedicineBehind the Mirror is a moving account of the life of Jeanne Simmons, how her autism helped shape the Linwood Model and the challenges that she faced in setting up the Linwood Children's Center.—ABILITY MagazineTable of ContentsForeword, by James C. Harris, MDPrefaceIntroduction: A Brief Description of Early Autism DevelopmentChapter 1. Birth, 1909Chapter 2. Early MemoriesChapter 3: Childhood during World War IChapter 4: School Years in HollandChapter 5: IllnessChapter 6: The TeacherChapter 7: Exile, 1940 Chapter 8: Stranded in America, 1940–1945Chapter 9: Back in Holland, 1945–1947Chapter 10: Return to America, 1947: The Social WorkerChapter 11: Lee, Martin, and the Miracle WorkerChapter 12: Linwood, 1955Chapter 13: Who Am I? The Search for SelfConclusionEpilogue: Linwood Then and NowAfterword, by James C. Harris, MDAppendix A. A Brief Overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Diagnostic Criteria, Research, and Treatment, by James C. Harris, MDAppendix B. An Autism Resource GuideAcknowledgmentsIllustrations appear following page XXX

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Book SynopsisThis book is part biographical account, part novel, and part popular science.The basic facts are historically true, but many episodes have additionally been dramatized with plausible content that brings the personal story to life in the style of a novel or movie script. This genre of a dramatized biography of scientists was first created by the author 45 years ago and became a great success selling over half a million copies in China, where it has been in particular demand for teaching. But this is not the whole story: In addition, the book explains, in a serious yet accessible manner, the basics of Einstein's scientific work, especially its impact on contemporary cosmology, astronomy, and physics. As an experienced teacher of relativity and astronomy for high-school and university students, the author knows how to make profound scientific subjects accessible, and his presentation is as fascinating as a detective story. Readers will learn not only about the historical setting but also about the challenges and frustrations faced by Einstein, about his breakthroughs and triumphs, as well as the far-reaching significance of his theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and other scientific achievements. The reader will come to understand why, of all the billions of people living in the twentieth century, Albert Einstein was singled out as the Person of the Century.

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Book SynopsisThe life and genius of Henry Royce, the outstanding, retiring, and often tyrannical founder of Rolls-RoyceTrade Review"Here, Peter Reese tells the story of Frederick Henry Royce, who, despite two years of formal education and his father dying in the poorhouse when he was nine years old, built the company form nothing." * This England *Feature in Country Life magazine * Country Life magazine *"Eminently readable, fascinating and quite readable..." * Auto Express *

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Book SynopsisCurie is the most significant woman in the history of science and one of the most consequential figures of our time.

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Book Synopsis300 years ago, in April 1721, a smallpox epidemic was raging in England. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu knew that she could save her 3-year-old daughter using the process of inoculation. She had witnessed this at first hand in Turkey, while she was living there as the wife of the British ambassador. She also knew that by inoculating - making her daughter the first person protected in the West - she would face opposition from doctors, politicians and clerics. Her courageous action eventually led to the eradication of smallpox and the prevention of millions of deaths. But Mary was more than a scientific campaigner. She mixed with the greatest politicians, writers, artists and thinkers of her day. She was also an important early feminist, writing powerfully and provocatively about the position of women. She was best friends with the poet Alexander Pope. They collaborated on a series of poems, which made her into a household name, an 'It Girl'. But their friendship turned sour and he used his pen to vilify her publicly. Aristocratic by birth, Mary chose to elope with Edward Wortley Montagu, whom she knew she did not love, so as to avoid being forced into marrying someone else. In middle age, her marriage stale, she fell for someone young enough to be her son - and, unknown to her, bisexual. She set off on a new life with him abroad. When this relationship failed, she stayed on in Europe, narrowly escaping the coercive control of an Italian conman. After twenty-two years abroad, she returned home to London to die. The son-in-law she had dismissed as a young man had meanwhile become Prime Minister.

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Book SynopsisFew people have changed the world like the Nobel Prize winners. Each of them has a unique story to tell, combining advice and inspiration, challenges and discoveries, eureka moments and failures. A call from Stockholm turned a group of twenty-four academics into Nobel Prize winners. This is their call to the next generations worldwide.Trade Review'Stefano Sandrone's wonderful gift to the readers of this book is an opportunity to spend a few precious private moments with 24 Nobel Prize winners. There are wisdom and valuable advice in each chapter, but it is the insights into each Nobelist as a real person, with real life stories, that makes this book very special.' Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature'Nobel Life offers tantalising glimpses into the Nobel Prize winners' works, their ideas and their personalities. Showing the humanity of some and the humanness of all, we see curiosity and creativity, collaboration and competition, selfishness and generosity, graciousness and haughtiness.' Shirley M. Malcom, Head of Education and Human Resources Programs of the American Association for the Advancement of Science'In these touching conversational portraits of Nobel Laureates, the reader is invited to follow their scientific quest and personal life trajectories, often marked by unexpected turns. Stefano Sandrone succeeds in revealing the human side of brilliant scientists who emerge as individuals with their passions and quirks, yet humble and with a sense of social responsibility.' Helga Nowotny, Professor emerita at ETH Zurich and Former President of the European Research Council'No interviews have ever discussed all the facets of the lives of these explorers of unknown territories in science and medicine. Stefano Sandrone has formulated intelligent questions for intelligent people.' Anders Bárány, Professor emeritus at Stockholm University and Former Scientific Secretary to the Nobel Committee for Physics'An interesting collection of interviews of Nobel Prize winners. An insight into their minds. Their struggles. Their findings and science. What they were doing when they got the call. All have one thing is common. They are humble and thankful. A wonderful read to enlighten readers.' Amit V, NetGalley Reader'This would make a superlative choice for library acquisition, as well as for readers who enjoy science writing and biography … Five stars. Well written and interesting with insights into a world most of us will never experience.' Annie Buchanan, Goodreads'The book includes much vivid detail about the human side of science.' Matthew Reisz, Times Higher Education'sometimes funny, occasionally poignant, and always insightful … Highly recommended for all readers.' Z. B. Johnson, Choice ConnectTable of Contents1. The periodic table Roald Hoffmann; 2. Eureka in Disney world Peter Agre; 3. Flying high Richard Ernst; 4. I'll show you what a woman can do Françoise Barré-Sinoussi; 5. Toys' stories Aaron Ciechanover and Edmond Fischer; 6. Clarity Tim Hunt; 7. Mentoring Martin Chalfie, Hamilton Smith and Johann Deisenhofer; 8. A stroke of colour Roger Tsien; 9. Impact factors Randy Schekman; 10. Know thyself Venkatraman Ramakrishnan; 11. Memory and vision Eric Kandel and Torsten Wiesel; 12. Words and people Daniel Kahneman; 13. Christmas and carol Elizabeth Blackburn and Hamilton Smith; 14. Rocket science Kary Mullis; 15. The big bang practice Arno Penzias, Hamilton Smith and David Gross; 16. Houston, we have a solution and many questions John Mather; 17. À la recherche of space and time Brian Schmidt; 18. Leadership and society Roger Myerson; 19. Of kings and cabbages Bob Solow; 20. Foreword to the future; Index.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA magnificent, definitive, and indefatigable tribute to an indefatigable man . . . Greene beautifully puts the record straight with a portrait of Wegener as a respected 'cosmic physicist.'—NatureIn this book Mott Greene has ably explained every detail of Wegener’s ideas and research and has created a well-deserved tribute to one of the most creative and energetic scientists of the twentieth century.—MetascienceA remarkably detailed and wonderfully well-written biography of Alfred Wegener . . . Includes insight into what makes a person such as Wegener a genius—what it was about him that led to an ability to create such a novel and correct view of nature. That is the true value of this exceptional book, to be able to feel as though one can literally experience the scientific genius that was Alfred Wegener.—ChoiceMott Greene's magnificent book reveals deep themes and connections to Wegener's many fruitful ideas and extraordinary scientific accomplishments, even as it examines the many distinct dimensions of thought and action that emanated from Wegener's apparently heedless embrace of all manner of risk-taking . . . Anglophone readers, especially, have never had such an opportunity to understand Alfred Wegener.—ScienceDirectThis biography is clearly a labor of love for its author. Greene worked on this book for more than twenty years, conducting archival research, visiting libraries and collections across Europe and in North America, and conducting interviews with key figures, including Wegener’s surviving family members . . . I came away with a renewed appreciation for Wegener as an engaged scientist who refused to let the boundaries of academic disciplines dampen his enthusiasm for scientific endeavor.—AAG Review of BooksMott Greene spent twenty years working on Alfred Wegener, a masterpiece in which he revolutionizes our understanding of Wegener, just as Wegener revolutionized our understanding of the Earth . . . a brilliant and compelling account of the life of one of the most talented, versatile, and remarkable scientists in history.—IsisGreene has created an important work that gives context to one of the most recent paradigm shifts in science . . . Greene tells the story with enough documentation to keep the story grounded in reality, yet uses his prose to maintain interest even after the 'eureka' moment, even after Wegener’s death on the ice.—Science & EducationTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgments1. The Boy2. The Student3. The Astronomer4. The Aerologist5. The Polar Meteorologist6. The Arctic Explorer (1)7. The Atmospheric Physicist (1)8. The Atmospheric Physicist (2)9. At a Crossroads10. The Theorist of Continental Drift (1)11. The Theorist of Continental Drift (2)12. The Arctic Explorer (2)13. The Soldier14. The Meteorologist15. The Geophysicist16. From Geophysicist to Climatologist17. The Paleoclimatologist18. The Professor19. Theorist and Arctic Explorer20. The Expedition LeaderEpilogueNotesBibliographical EssayIndex

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Book SynopsisHugh Everett III's "Many Worlds" theory is now considered a hugely important breakthrough in the history of physics. This book tells the story of the physics establishment's rejection of his theory, his subsequent Pentagon career in nuclear strategy, and his difficult personal life and eventual death from alcoholism.Trade ReviewThe Many Worlds of Hugh Everett III deserves to be widely read. It is comprehensive as a biography; satisfactory as an introduction to Everettian Quantum Mechanics; illuminating as a study in the psychology of physicists and of operations researchers; and engaging as a human story. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in quantum theory. * Alastair Wilson, Metascience *The book provides new insights into the development and the later Renaissance of the "many worlds" theory. I am recommending the anthology to anyone interested in the theory's physical or philosophical implications, and in the pro and con arguments [...] * Alexander Pawlak, Physik Journal *Byrne's narrative compels serious attention, contains much important new material, is greatly enlivened and enhanced by his eagle eye for the telling quotation, and is always interesting and often convincing. It should intrigue any student of twentieth century physics, and is also a valuable resource for anyone concerned with the broader eduction of the scientists and the impact narrowly scientific ways of thinking can have on scientists themselves and on the wider world. * Adrian Kent, American Journal of Physics *Vivid and thoroughly researched. Byrne does an admirable job of weaving together quantum mechanics, nuclear war games and the disintegration of a dysfunctional family in this tale of a talented scientist, but morally compromised man. * Manjit Kumar *The book offers a valuable source of primary information about Everett's life and work, with much material not available elsewhere, [and] fleshes out an important part of the quantum physics story. * Science News *Peter Byrne's meticulously researched biography provides a detailed and intimate look at one of the most seminal figures in 20th century physics and mathematics ... it is a remarkable and long-overdue biography. * Ian T. Durham, The Quantum Times *Offers a valuable source of primary information about Everetts life and work, with much material not available elsewhere ... this book fleshes out an important part of the quantum physics story. * Tom Siegfried, ScienceNews *The many worlds theory is still garish after all these years. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to read the story of its creator, himself too obsessed with models to intersect effectively with the real world. * Robert P. Crease, Nature *Byrne does an excellent job of explaining the theory, why it is necessary and the difficulties it solves (and doesn't). [...] Byrne does not patronise his readers with superficial pen portraits of his characters. We get to know the characters by what they say and what they do. And they say and do some truly remarkable things. [...] This is a strangely beautiful story, expertly told with the dignity, candour and attention to detail it deserves. * New Scientist *The effort Byrne has put in to understanding the man is impressive ... * Robert Matthews, BBC Focus Magazine *In this biography, Peter Byrne bravely explores both the life and the science of Hugh Everett, the brilliant creator of the "many worlds" concept who burned himself out at an early age. As Byrne makes clear, Everett's startling achievements in physics stood against his startling deficiencies as a husband and father. * Kenneth W. Ford, retired director, American Institute of Physics *This book has the potential to become the definitive biography of one of the finest minds of the twentieth century. * David Deutsch FRS, Oxford University *In this extraordinarily personal biography, Peter Byrne masterfully conveys the life, struggles, achievements, and failures of this fascinating man, whose insights in physics created a new understanding of quantum mechanics, whose secret work helped usher us through the Cold War, and whose inner battles led to his own destruction. * A. Garrett Lisi, physicist, author of 'An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything' *We are grateful to Peter Byrne for this remarkable and remarkably sad story of the life and science of Hugh Everett III. Gifted, but late-to-be-recognized, Everett, while still in his twenties, proposed a new, now somewhat fashionable, interpretation of the quantum theory--the often rediscovered and often misinterpreted, so called, many worlds theory. Byrne gives a lucid and accessible account of many aspects of what has been an extraordinarily puzzling question that has bedeviled the quantum theory since its origin. And he does this with a warts and all reconstruction of Everett's life. An impressive achievement. * Leon N. Cooper, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1972 *Peter Byrne has the skills of a seasoned journalist: an eye for a story, a knack for turning up improbable interviews and previously undiscovered manuscripts, and a thoroughly engaging style. His target here is inherently interesting, and the resulting story is a remarkable achievement. * Jeff Barrett, Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science; University of California, Irvine *This is an exciting book about a man who was ahead of his time by decades, although he did no more than logically apply a well-established theory against all prejudice. Peter Byrne has done an excellent job in unearthing documents, most of them unknown, about the history of Everett's ideas, their reception by the leading physicists from 1957 until today, and the consequences this had for Everett's life. * H. Dieter Zeh, University of Heidelberg *Table of ContentsBOOK 1: BEGINNINGS; BOOK 2: GAME WORLD; BOOK 3: QUANTUM WORLD; BOOK 4: EVERETT AND WHEELER; BOOK 5: POSSIBLE WORLD FUTURES; BOOK 6: CROSSROADS; BOOK 7: ASSURED DESTRUCTION; BOOK 8: TRANSITIONS; BOOK 9: BELTWAY BANDIT; BOOK 10: MANY WORLDS REBORN; BOOK 11: AMERICAN TRAGEDY; BOOK 12: EVERETT'S LEGACY; BOOK 1: BEGINNINGS; BOOK 2: GAME WORLD; BOOK 3: QUANTUM WORLD; BOOK 4: EVERETT AND WHEELER; BOOK 5: POSSIBLE WORLD FUTURES; BOOK 6: CROSSROADS; BOOK 7: ASSURED DESTRUCTION; BOOK 8: TRANSITIONS; BOOK 9: BELTWAY BANDIT; BOOK 10: MANY WORLDS REBORN; BOOK 11: AMERICAN TRAGEDY; BOOK 12: EVERETT'S LEGACY

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Book SynopsisIn 1983 Gerry Kennedy set off on a tour through Russia, China, Japan and the USA to visit others involved in the global anti-war movement. Only dimly aware of his Victorian ancestors: George Boole, forefather of the digital revolution and James Hinton, eccentric philosopher and advocate of polygamy, he had directly followed in the footsteps of two dynasties of radical thinkers and doers.Their notable achievements, in which the women were particularly prominent, involved many spheres. Boole's wife, Mary Everest, niece of George Everest, surveyor of the eponymous mountain, was an early advocate of hands-on education. Of the five talented Boole daughters, Ethel Voynich, wife of the discoverer of the enigmatic, still unexplained Voynich Manuscript, campaigned with Russian anarchists to overthrow the Tsar. Her 1897 novel The Gadfly, filmed later with music by Shostakovich, sold in millions behind the Iron Curtain. She was rumoured to have had an affair with the notorious 'Ace of Spies', Sidney Reilly. One of Ethel's sisters married Charles Howard Hinton: a leading exponent of the esoteric realm of the fourth dimension and inventor of the gunpowder baseball-pitcher.Of their descendants, Carmelita Hinton also pioneered progressive education in the USA at her school in Putney, Vermont. Her children dedicated their lives to Mao's China. Appalled by the dropping on Japan of the atomic bomb that she had helped design, Joan Hinton defected to China and actively engaged in the Cultural Revolution. William Hinton wrote the influential documentary Fanshen based on his experience in 1948 of revolutionary change in a Shanxi village. Other members of the clan became renowned in their fields of physics, entomology and botany. Their combined legacy of independent and constructive thinking is perhaps typified by the invention of the Jungle Gym: the climbing-frame now used by children the world over. In The Booles and the Hintons the author embarks on a quest to reveal the stories behind their remarkable lives.Table of ContentsContentsAcknowledgements viiiForeword ixWho's Who xii 1 GRAVY OVER A TABLECLOTH 1The author's own background in West London. 'Discovery' of the Booles, brief outline of the Boole/Hinton major characters.2 THE UGLY DUCKLING 12The Voynich Manuscript in brief: its history and research to date.3 BRINGING STARRY WISDOM DOWN 29The author's visit to Lincoln. George Boole's life and background.4 THE MISSUS 59Mary Everest Boole: her life with George Boole and her own views on life and education.5 TADPOLES INTO FROGS 83The five Boole daughters' early lives.6 THE WIZARD 89James Hinton: his life and philosophy.7 TRAPDOORS AND VELVETEEN 104Tsarist Russia in the late nineteenth century. Russian anarchists: Kropotkin and Stepniak. Charlotte Wilson and Wyldes Farm.Radical politics in England in the 1880s.8 CITIZENS' DIPLOMACY 119The author's peace politics, Moscow dissidents and journey on the Trans-Siberian railway, 1983. Ethel Boole's stay in St Petersburg, 1887-89.9 ROUND AND ROUND THE GARDEN 141James Hinton's comeuppance. Olive Schreiner and Havelock Ellis. Caroline Haddon. The Men and Women's Club.10 THE RIFF-RAFF OF RASCALDOM 153The Society of Friends of Russian Freedom. Russian anarchists and related novels of the period. London arrival of Wilfrid Voynich.11 COMMUNING WITH SPACE 170Charles Howard Hinton and the fourth dimension. His and Mary Ellen Boole's exile to Japan and the USA in 1887. Hinton'swritings and influence in Europe. Peter Ouspensky in Russia.12 THE CITADEL 197The author's visit to Warsaw. Proletariat: early Polish socialists. History of Wilfrid's escape from Siberia.13 DEAD AS MUTTON? 213Ethel Voynich's novel The Gadfly. Wilfrid Voynich establishes his book trade. Jack Raymond, another novel by Ethel.14 THE ENGLISH AUNTS 227The five Boole sisters: Mary Ellen, Margaret, Alice, Lucy and Ethel's later lives. Ethel and Ivor Gurney.15 BRINGING HOME THE BACON 247The Voynich Manuscript again. Ethel and Wilfrid in the USA.16 THE BIGGLES OF COMMUNISM 259Ethel in New York; her last novel. Ethel 're-discovered'. Scandal with the spy, Sidney Reilly.17 OLIVE AND OVOD 277The author's return to Russia via Lithuania searching for The Gadfly in Moscow and St Petersburg.18 A CQR LIFE 302The life of Cambridge scientist, Sir Geoffrey Taylor, grandson of George Boole.19 THE HINTON GENUS 314Hinton descendants in Mexico in the mining industry and their plant collecting. The life of Howard Everest Hinton, entomologist.20 UNCOLLAPSIBLE HINTONS 337The Byrdcliffe arts community, Woodstock USA. Carmelita Hinton and the setting up of Putney School, Vermont USA.21 THE GADGET 356The Manhattan Project and Joan Hinton. Hiroshima.22 PEKING JOAN 374Joan Hinton and Sid Engst in Mongolia, Si'an and Beijing during the Cultural Revolution.23 FANSHEN 398The life of Bill Hinton and the rural revolution in China. Author's visit to Long Bow village.24 THE VERMONTER 417The author returns to the USA to visit Putney School.Afterword 422Notes 427Illustration Credits 453Index 456

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Book SynopsisArranged in chronological order from the early Greek mathematicians, Euclid and Archimedes through to present-day Nobel Prize winners, 100 Science Discoveries That Changed the World charts the great breakthroughs in scientific understanding. Each entry describes the story of the research, the significance of the science and its impact on the scientific world. There is also a resume of each scientist’s career along with their other achievements, sometimes – in the case of Isaac Newton – in a completely unrelated field (laws of motion and the component parts of light). The book covers all branches of science: geometry, number theory, cosmology, the laws of motion, particle physics, electricity, magnetism, the laws of gasses, optical theory, cell biology, conservation of energy, natural selection, radiation, quantum theory, special relativity, superconductivity, thermodynamics, genomes, plate tectonics, and the uncertainty principal. Scientists include: Albert Einstein, Alessandro Volta, Alexander Fleming, Amedeo Avogrado, Andre Geim, Antoine Lavoisier, Antony van Leeuwenhoek, Archimedes, Benoit Mandelbrot, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Charles Darwin, Christian Doppler, Copernicus, Crick and Watson, Dmitri Mendeleev, Edwin Hubble, Enrico Fermi, Ernest Rutherford, Erwin Schrodinger, Euclid, Fermat, Frederick Sanger, Galileo Galilei, Georg Ohm, Georges Lemaitre, Heike Kamerlingh, Isaac Newton, Jacques Charles, James Clerk Maxwell, James Prescott Joule, Jean Buridan, Johanes Kepler, John Ambrose Fleming, John Dalton, John O’Keefe, Joseph Black, Josiah Gibbs, Lord Kelvin, Lord Rayleigh, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Martinus Beijerinck, Michael Faraday, Murray Gell-Mann & George Zweig, Neils Bohr, Nicholas Steno, Peter Higgs, Pierre Curie, Ptolemy, Robert Boyle, Robert Brown, Robert Hooke, Roger Bacon, Rudolf Clausius, Seleucus, Shen Kuo, Stanley Miller, Tyco Brahe, Werner Heisenberg, William Gilbert, William Harvey, William Herschel, William Rontgen, Wolfgang Pauli.Trade ReviewPraise for Colin Salter’s 100 Posters that Changed the World: 'Showcase[s] an extensive collection of the images and slogans that have shaped society as we know it.’ – Country Life 'This journey through images that can inspire, shock or just leave the viewer laughing is never less than fascinating… A beautifully produced volume that will find a very broad readership.' – All About History 'This engaging book is a vivid tapestry of poster styles with diverse commercial, cultural and political applications supplemented by informative single-page essays that stimulate curiosity page after page.’ – Morning Star

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Book SynopsisThe return of the high successful biography of a modern legend by Alan Turing's nephewTrade ReviewA cracking read. -- Nick SmithFor anyone seeking a more nuanced picture of the human side of Turing . . . this book makes a useful and sometimes poignant contribution. -- Clare MulleyDeserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history of BP and in the development of the computer. -- David Hamer[Dermot Turing] has done a fabulous job of translating the complexities of mathematics and the early computer science to the lay person. -- Walter Myer

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Book SynopsisThe spellbinding stories of the scientists whose eureka! breakthroughs in modern physics reveal science's astonishing predictive power.'An excellent popular science book.'DARA Ã? BRIAIN'A thoroughly informative and entertaining read.'ANNA BURNS, Booker Prize-winning author of Milkman'One of the best-written books about phsyics I have ever come across.'POPULAR SCIENCE'Highly entertaining and accessible.' IRISH TIMES'Fascinating, life enhancing entertainment.' PROSPECT'Thoroughly enjoyable . . . Chown has done it again.' BBC SKY AT NIGHTBreakthrough takes us on a breathtaking, mind-altering tour of the eureka! moments of modern physics. Charting the spellbinding stories of the scientists who predicted and discovered the existence of unknown planets, black holes, invisible force fields, ripples in the fabric of space-time,

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Book SynopsisThe memoirs of a Jamaican nurse, famed for her work among the sick and wounded of the Crimean War, offer the unique perspective of a Victorian-era black woman at a battlefield's front line.

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Book Synopsis'A great read. I am honoured to have worked with such a legend' David Nott'A role model for women' Independent'A wonderful read' Julian Fellowes'Remarkable' Lauren Laverne'Charming' GuardianWe were occasionally expected to travel by ambulance to a serious case and would always have a kit of tools and drugs ready for emergency calls. On one occasion, we were responding to a man who had fallen into the hold of a grain ship and broken his leg. I was expected to go down a pole into the ship to administer analgaesia before he could be rescued. The 'audience' of shipworkers delighted in telling me that there were rats the size of dogs down in the grain. The other problem was that this was the era of the mini skirt, and you can imagine what that meant. Following the incident, I instituted the purchase of some 'Casualty Officers Emergency Dungarees' as an addition to the kit.Averil Mansfield established herself as a pioneer in every sense of the word when she qualified as a surgeon in the early 1970s. At the time just two per cent of her colleagues were female, and she was often met with surprise, bordering on disbelief and amusement, when telling people what she did. But time and again, Averil proved herself more than capable of the role which had been her greatest dream since the age of eight. After a formidable operating career in Liverpool and London, during which she made many enduring friendships, she went on to became the UK's first ever female professor of surgery.Life in Her Hands is the remarkable story of a truly trailblazing woman. Averil's account shines light on a medical and societal world that has changed beyond measure, but which - as she shows through her experiences - still has a long way to go for the women finding their place within it.Trade ReviewA great read. I am honoured to have worked with such a legend * David Nott *An amazing journey recounted with modesty and humour. A wonderful read * Julian Fellowes *Delightful, brave, funny, lovely and self-deprecating. Professor Mansfield really has paved the way for others * Dr Fiona Godlee, first female editor-in-chief of The British Medical Journal *Remarkable * Lauren Laverne *A role model for women * Independent *

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Book SynopsisBuild your child's reading confidence at home with books at the right levelCarl Linnaeus was one of the most important and influential scientists who ever lived. He invented a system for naming and classifying living things, which is still in use today, and went on scientific expeditions to remote parts of the world. Discover Linnaeus's adventurous life and how his work has inspired scientists ever since.Pearl/Band 18 books offer fluent readers a complex, substantial text with challenging themes to facilitate sustained comprehension, bridging the gap between a reading programme and longer chapter books.Text type An information book.The book is organised into short chapters to help children practise the skills of locating and identifying important information.The glossary and index can be used to develop children''s information retrieval skills further.

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Book SynopsisCHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, DAILY TELEGRAPH, NEW STATESMAN AND BBC SCIENCE FOCUS''An intimate, unique, and inspiring perspective on the life and work of one of the greatest minds of our time. Filled with insight, humour, and never-before-told stories, it''s a view of Stephen Hawking that few have seen and all will appreciate'' James Clear, author of Atomic HabitsAn icon of the last fifty years, Stephen Hawking seems to encapsulate genius: not since Albert Einstein has a scientific figure held such a position in popular consciousness. In this enthralling memoir, writer and physicist Leonard Mlodinow tells the story of his friend and their collaboration, offering an intimate account of this giant of science. The two met in 2003, when Stephen asked Leonard if he would consider writing a book with him, the follow up to the bestselling A Brief History of Time. As they spent years working on a seconTrade ReviewA very fine book indeed. Mlodinow is himself a physicist of some distinction, but he is also a very skilled writer. Writing of the stubbornness that enabled Hawking to pursue theoretical physics despite his motor neurone disease, he says, "It allowed his spirit to dance in the prison of his limp body." The great merit of this book is to convey so vividly the dance, the spirit and the prison -- Ray Monk * New Statesman Books of the Year *Even Stephen Hawking's brain was not a computer; fellow physicist Leonard Mlodinow provides a warm and three-dimensional portrait of a brilliant and stubborn human being, rather than simply a genius in a chair * Daily Telegraph Books of the Year *One of the most touching biographies of the year shows the human side of the great physicist Stephen Hawking, as seen by his friend and collaborator Leonard Mlodinow. With admirably easy-to-grasp digressions into favourite subjects such as Einstein, dark energy and black holes, Mlodinow tells us about Hawking the man -- Katy Guest * Guardian Books of the Year *A personal and intellectual biography - and tremendously entertaining. . . Leonard Mlodinow is himself a theoretical physicist, and a brilliant writer to boot. . . Five stars -- Daily Telegraph * Steven Poole *Hawking's collaborator retells his story with humour and fondness, and helps us know the famous scientist as he really was. . . Highly enjoyable. . . a tender account, full of genuine affection, which doesn't shy away from Hawking's intense focus, self-centredness and unpredictability -- Guardian * Jim Al-Khalili *A compelling read. . . fresh and worthwhile. As a serious theoretical physicist who co-wrote two books with Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow saw the great man from a unique vantage point. He can delve into intimate details and survey the intellectual high ground -- James McConnachie * Sunday Times *Leonard Mlodinow has done the impossible. He has skillfully woven together a thoughtful, insightful, intimate, and engaging portrait of Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest minds of our times, while being scrupulously faithful to the physics. Hawking would have been proud of this book -- Michio KakuStartlingly good ... What really comes over is his modest delight that he made a friend of such an eminent man. Mlodinow explains the science with a clarity and an elegance. You will learn from this what you signally failed to learn from A Brief History of Time -- Daily MailStephen Hawking was a unique scientist and person, and Leonard Mlodinow's book is a unique glimpse into how he worked and lived. As educational as it is touching, this is a deeply human look at a mind that spanned the cosmos -- Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply HiddenDespite the acclaim, there is still much to discover about Steven Hawking ... theoretical physicist Leonard Mlodinow offers an intimate glimpse inside the famous scientist's life * New Scientist *Hugely enjoyable. . . fresh and compelling. Instead of the spellbound exaltation of a great mind, it is a humane and intimate portrayal of a brilliant scientist. It is also written from a special vantage point. Mlodinow, a theoretical physicist and gifted author, spent several years working with Hawking, co-writing two books. Their working sessions form the narrative backbone of this emotionally satisfying and intellectually stimulating memoir John Paul Rathbone, Financial Times -- Financial Times * John Paul Rathbone *An intimate, unique, and inspiring perspective on the life and work of one of the greatest minds of our time. Filled with insight, humour, and never-before-told stories, it's a view of Stephen Hawking that few have seen and all will appreciate -- James Clear, author of Atomic HabitsStephen Hawking surpassed science and touched the world with his transcendent genius and heroic courage that inspired millions. In this intimate memoir, his long-time friend and physics collaborator Leonard Mlodinow, one of the finest science writers of our time, shares insights into Hawking that humanizes him while also revealing what made him one of history's greatest minds -- Michael Shermer, author of The Believing Brain

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Chapter 1: From Tomahawks to Telescopes Chapter 2: Rising Stars Chapter 3: The Rocketeers Chapter 4: Foreign Intelligence Across the Rhine Chapter 5: Lights in the Night Sky Chapter 6: Genius Blooms Chapter 7: The People's Observatory Chapter 8: Opportunity Knocks - Doors Open Wide Chapter 9: Inventing Modern Optical Sciences Chapter 10: Power for the People Donald E. Osborn Chapter 11: A View to National Security Chapter 12: In Space at Last Chapter 13: Slowly Fades the Supernova Appendix 1: List of Acronyms and Abbreviations Appendix 2: Literature by Aden and Marjorie Meinel Appendix 3: Select publications of Edison Pettit, Hannah Steele Pettit, and Helen Pettit Knaflich References Index

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Book SynopsisNicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) is a pivotal figure in the birth of modern science, the astronomer who stopped the sun and set the earth in motion. Born in Poland, educated at Cracow and then in Italy, he served all of his adult life as a church administrator. His vision of a sun-centered universe, shocking to many and unbelievable to most, turned out to be the essential blueprint for a physical understanding of celestial motions, thereby triggering what is commonly called the Copernican revolution. A first edition of his world-changing treatise, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium, has most recently been auctioned for more than $2 million.In this book, leading historian of science Owen Gingerich sets Copernicus in the context of a rapidly changing world, where the recent invention of printing with moveable type not only made sources more readily available to him, but also fueled Martin''s Luther''s transformation of the religious landscape. In an era of geographical exploration and discovery, new ideas were replacing time-honored concepts about the extent of inhabited continents. Gingerich reveals Copernicus'' heliocentric revolution as an aesthetic achievement not dictated by observational proofs, but another new way of looking at the ancient cosmos.Deftly combining astronomy and history, this Very Short Introduction offers a fascinating portray of the man who launched the modern vision of the universe. Out of Gingerich''s engaging biography emerges the image of a scientist, intellectual, patriot, and reformer, who lived in an era when political as well as religious beliefs were shifting.Trade ReviewThis short book is superb. * Ian Welland, Astronomy Now *A superb contribution to the series. * John Henry, Annals of Science *A very strong introduction to Copernicus - an introduction whose unexpected elements make it surprising and enjoyable to read. * Christopher M. Graney, Metascience Review *An easy read, with a great deal to teach us all about both science and history. In all, a most enjoyable book. * Juan A. Añel, Contemporary Physics *Gingerich is clearly a fan of Copernicus and this superb little book will make you a fan too. * David W. Hughes, The Observatory *In eight short chapters that carefully combine biographical and conceptual elements, Gingerich gives readers the benefit of his unparalleled knowledge of Copernicus and his work. * Michel-Pierre Lerner, Journal for the History of Astronomy *Table of ContentsList of illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue 1. Copernicus, the young scholar 2. The architecture of the heavens 3. Copernicus's vision 4. Canon days and the Little Commentary 5. Competing with Ptolemy 6. Rheticus 7. De revolutionibus 8. The book nobody read Appendix 1: Copernicus's alternative to the equant Appendix 2: De revolutionibus as a recipe book for planetary positions References Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisJust over four hundred years ago, in 1610, Galileo published the Siderius nuncius, or Starry Messenger, a ''hurried little masterpiece'' in John Heilbron''s words. Presenting to the world his remarkable observations using the recently invented telescope - of the craters of the moon, and the satellites of Jupiter, observations that forced changes to perceptions of the perfection of the heavens and the centrality of the Earth - the appearance of the little book is regarded as one of the greatest moments in the history of science. It was also a point of change in the life of Galileo himself, propelling him from professor to prophet. But this is not the biography of a mathematician. Certainly he spent the first half of his career as a professor of mathematics and has been called ''the divine mathematician''. Yet he was no more (or less) a mathematician than he was a musician, artist, writer, philosopher, or gadgeteer. This fresh lively new biography of the ''father of science'' paints a rounded picture of Galileo, and places him firmly within the rich texture of late Renaissance Florence, Pisa, and Padua, amid debates on the merits of Ariosto and Tasso, and the geometry of Dante''s Inferno - debates in which the young Galileo played an active role. Galileo''s character and career followed complex paths, moving from the creative but cautious humanist professor to a ''knight errant, quixotic and fearless'', with increasing enemies, and leading ultimately and inevitably to a clash with a pope who was a former friend.Trade ReviewThis is a fine book, well written and fully researched, with excellent colour plates showing mostly contemporary portraits of the principal players * F.W Taylor, University of Oxford, Contemporary Science *The book is perhaps most impressive for Heilbrons deep immersion in the rich context of his story, particularly the personal, social, and intellectual relations among lesser actors who are often treated as mere names while the spotlight shines on Galileo. * Michael H. Shank, Science & Education *Heilbron has produced that rare marvel, a splendid new view of a familiar figure, a witty, absorbing, and convincing account of the man and his epoch, destined for the wide readership Galileo himself once had. * Eileen Reeves, ISIS *Table of Contents1. A Florentine Education ; 2. A Tuscan Archimedes ; 3. Life in the Serenissima ; 4. Galilean Science ; 5. Calculated Risks ; 6. Miscalculated Risks ; 7. Vainglory ; 8. End Games ; Afterword

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Plague Years is a remarkable book. At once the story of a disease and a very personal and reflective memoir, 200-some pages written in a powerful narrative style at once artful and enlightening. . . .There are many truths in this stunning and important book. And there’s also hope.” -- Rick Kogan * Chicago Tribune * “[A] powerful, humane and stylish memoir.” * Nature *"This medical memoir will be welcomed as a timely and thought-provoking read." * Choice *“Slotten’s memoir of caring for AIDS patients in Chicago in the 1980s and 1990s, Plague Years, could not be more timely. . . . San Francisco and New York City have long been cast as the epicenters of the AIDS epidemic, but Slotten provides a history of another major urban center coming to grips with an illness that was unexpected and misunderstood. . . .He is unflinching in examining his own psychology, the mechanisms he erected to protect himself, articulating his sense of deficiency in a bracing confessional tone. . . What loudly echoes from Slotten’s account is the commitment of caregivers to confront the uncertainty of a contagious disease.” -- Jerome Groopman * The New York Review of Books *“A tense reading experience. Indeed the entire story of [Slotten’s] love for a man who broke his heart sets us up for many pages of suspense. This story is woven in with memories of his young adulthood and middle years spent medically caring for AIDS patients, particularly gay men. As he comes to terms with his own advice to get tested—something he had avoided doing himself—readers may feel as if they’re holding onto a fraying rope.” -- Terri Schlichenmeyer * The Gay & Lesbian Review *“Slotten recounts his experience in the clinic with acuity and sensitivity. . . . Plague Years is thus a clinical story that is layered with emotional depth and personal detail, as he grapples with both medical and personal crises. The result is captivating and transformative.” * Cleveland Review of Books *“A heartfelt meditation on a time many thought they'd never see their way through-and a self-critical look at how he got through it. . . . As the public waits for medical miracles to crush the coronavirus, Slotten's words provide a glimmer of hope.” * Jewish United Fund News *"This is a devastating book, made more so by Slotten's viewpoint as both gay man and doctor, and by casual reminders of the things we didn't know then, and the things we know now. 'Plague Years' is profane and blunt and nail-biting and heartbreaking and hopeful, and that pretty much covers it." * The Meridian Star *“A plainspoken memoir of the AIDS onslaught by a doctor whose life and career have been spent fighting back at it, Plague Years is humane, harrowing, and—eventually, mercifully, guardedly—hopeful. It was not an easy thing for me to return to the Chicago of those early years of increasing anxiety and fear—who knows how many times Dr. Slotten and I may have unknowingly crossed paths?—but this is an important account, and well worth your time.” * Benjamin Dreyer, New York Times best-selling author of Dreyer’s English *“An excellently written, eminently readable, and absolutely compelling account of the AIDS epidemic, told with passion from the inside. Slotten vividly brings to life the stories of individuals lost to history and memory, as well as the experience of being a doctor on the frontline of something he never expected to encounter.” * John D’Emilio, author of Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago’s LGBTQ Past *“Plague Years could have been written only by a highly observant and deeply thoughtful firsthand witness, reporting the most intimate and honest moments between a physician and his patients. A moving memoir of a gay doctor’s life during the most horrific years of the AIDS epidemic as well as an insightful and detailed historical document.” * Sean Strub, founder of POZ magazine and director of The Sero Project *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Weiser’s pioneering ideas, which he refined in the nineteen-eighties and nineties, led to the present-day Internet of Things, but his vision lost out to the surveillance-capitalist imperatives of Big Tech. Tinnell’s profound biography evokes an alternative paradigm, in which technology companies did not seek to monitor and exploit users." * New Yorker *"The story of Weiser’s undertaking is told by John Tinnell, a professor of English at the University of Colorado at Denver, in his new biography The Philosopher of Palo Alto, and it’s refreshingly strange. . . . Tinnell presents Weiser both as a progenitor of this state of affairs—his PARC was where 'the seeds for the Internet of Things had been sown”—and as the prophet of an alternative paradigm that might “hold some conceptual tenets for building a better Internet of Things today,' one that rejects 'total surveillance and zero privacy, runaway automation, and diminished agency.'” * New York Review of Books *"In the life of Mark Weiser, John Tinnell has found a morality tale for our times. For anyone looking to understand how technology is shaping society today, The Philosopher of Palo Alto is a compelling and necessary read." -- Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows and The Glass Cage"This riveting, up-close account reveals how one man’s dream of benevolent computing helped set us on the road to the hyper-connected, surveillance-driven nightmare we inhabit today. A deeply unsettling and cautionary tale." -- Fred Turner, author of From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism"Along with Doug Engelbart’s intelligence augmentation and Alan Kay’s Dynabook, Mark Weiser’s ubiquitous computing is one of the three big concepts that Silicon Valley has fed off of for decades. Tinnell has done a wonderful job of capturing the arc of Weiser’s ideas." -- John Markoff author of Whole Earth: The Many Lives of Stewart Brand“The Philosopher of Palo Alto is a really interesting read in the context of the latest developments in AI. I do have a boundless appetite for books about the history of the industry and was intrigued by this as I’d never heard of Mark Weiser. The reason for that gap, even though he ran the computer science lab at Xerox PARC, is probably that his philosophy of computing lost out. In a nutshell, he was strongly opposed to tech whose smartness involved making people superfluous.” -- Diane Coyle * Enlightened Economist *Table of ContentsPrologue Introduction: Googleville Chapter 1: Messy Systems Chapter 2: The Innovator as a Young Seeker Chapter 3: Asymmetrical Encounters Chapter 4: Tabs, Pads, and Boards Chapter 5: One Hundred Computers per Room Chapter 6: Retreat Chapter 7: Tacit Inc. Chapter 8: The Dangling String Chapter 9: Smarter Ways to Make Things Smart Chapter 10: A Form of Worship Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis''Deeply researched and profoundly absorbing . . . Matthew Stanley traces one of the greatest epics of scientific history . . . An amazing story'' Michael Frayn, author of Tony Award-winning CopenhagenIn 1916, Arthur Eddington, a war-weary British astronomer, opened a letter written by an obscure German professor named Einstein. The neatly printed equations on the scrap of paper outlined his world-changing theory of general relativity. Until then Einstein''s masterpiece of time and space had been trapped behind the physical and ideological lines of battle, unknown. Einstein''s name is now synonymous with ''genius'', but it was not an easy road. He spent a decade creating relativity and his ascent to global celebrity owed much to against-the-odds international collaboration, including Eddington''s globe-spanning expedition of 1919 - two years before they finally met. We usually think of scientific discovery as a flash of individual inspiration, but here we see Trade ReviewRiveting . . . Stanley lets us share the excitement a hundred years later in this entertaining and gripping book. It's a must read if you ever wondered how Einstein became 'Einstein' -- Manjit Kumar, author of 'Quantum'Deeply researched and profoundly absorbing . . . Matthew Stanley traces one of the greatest epics of scientific history . . . An amazing story -- Michael Frayn, author of Tony Award-winning 'Copenhagen'For a century, Einstein's relativity has inspired otherworldly thoughts. Yet as Matthew Stanley demonstrates, Einstein's efforts were deeply enmeshed within our own world - a world riven by the drama and disruption of the First World War. This beautifully written, moving account captures the heady thrills and crushing setbacks of one of the great intellectual adventures of modern times -- David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and Professor of Physics, MIT, author of 'How the Hippies Saved Physics'Even if you know a lot about the history of relativity - even if you know the old stories about Sir Arthur Eddington's voyage in 1919 to try to prove Albert Einstein's theories correct - you probably haven't pondered just how unlikely the Einstein/Eddington pairing really was. At a time where the mere hint of fraternization with the enemy could land you in jail as a spy, a Briton embraced the ideas of an enemy scientist, and helped launch the legend of arguably the greatest physicist of modern times. A fascinating story -- Charles Seife, author of Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous IdeaDetailed and readable . . . It is especially revealing about Einstein's scientific work and private life leading up to the momentous events of 1919 -- Peter Coles * Nature *A thrilling history of the development of the theory of relativity . . . a superb account of Einstein's and Eddington's spectacularly successful struggles to work and survive under miserable wartime conditions * Kirkus Reviews, starred review *Impressive . . . Stanley's well-told and impressively readable chronicle delivers a wider, and still relevant, message that how science is performed is inextricable from other aspects of people's lives * Publishers Weekly *He succeeds in wrapping up the global, national and scientific politics of an era in a compelling story of one man's wild theory, lucidly sketched, and its experimental confirmation in the unlikeliest and most exotic circumstances -- Simon Ings * Spectator *Few books about events a century ago carry as relevant a message for today's world of resurgent nationalism as does Matthew Stanley's Einstein's War . . . Stanley is a storyteller par excellence...[his] riveting, blow-by-blow account of Einstein's struggle...is an unusually reader-friendly journey into relativity theory . . . Einstein and Eddington would have liked it * Washington Post *An insightful and elegantly written exploration of the impact of war on science in both Britain and Germany -- PD Smith * TLS *

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Book SynopsisExplore the wonders of wild Mongolia through the eyes of a distinguished field biologistTrade Review“Schaller is driven by his vision of what must be done if wild spaces and rare species are to persist. . . . He is eloquent in his condemnation of what he deems gross mismanagement by the nation’s current political leaders, who allow oil drilling, mining and road-building in crucial protected areas.”—Tom McCarthy, Nature“George Schaller’s genius has been to bring the style of the best nineteenth-century natural histories together with solid present-day science. Into Wild Mongolia is a superb example of this combination.”—Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University“With great dedication to wildlife in all of its manifestations, George Schaller explores the vast steppes and other habitats of Mongolia. His revelatory explorations will undoubtedly aid the conservation of this unique ecosystem.”—Frans de Waal, author of Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us about Ourselves“Traveling in remote and unpredictable regions, George Schaller conveys the thrill of sitting near snow leopards, the beauty of vast glowing grasses, and the discovery of thousands of wandering gazelles.”—Amy Vedder, author of In the Kingdom of Gorillas: The Quest to Save Rwanda’s Mountain Gorillas“Luminously written, Into Wild Mongolia introduces us to remote, often cold, and desolate landscapes, animals such as the Bactrian camel, and local characters, richly rendered. We learn to read the wordless movements of elusive creatures like the snow leopard, communicated in the oldest writing on earth, their footprints in soil and snow. George Schaller is an icon; for his dedication to conservation and his love of biodiversity we can only be grateful.”—James Prosek, author of Trout of the World and Eels.“George Schaller, a true giant, is essentially the original field biologist. His words are living history. This astonishing, vivid book describes a region that has changed, but must never be forgotten.”—Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel

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Book SynopsisCandace Pert stood at the dawn of three revolutions: the opioid crisis, the AIDS crisis, and the mind-body movement. Indeed, her visionary work shaped history – for good and, inadvertently, for evil.    Before there was Bessel van der Kolk, there was Candace Pert, the Mother of the Mind-Body Revolution. Her story forms a launchpad to discuss the most pressing issues plaguing science and healthcare today.  Pert played pivotal roles in major movements in both science and politics. Namely, she: Discovered the opiate receptor (the mechanism by which opioids function in the brain), launching the opioid crisis. Proved the mind-body link, launching the field of integrative or functional medicine. Created Peptide T, the underground AIDS drug featured in the film Dallas Buyers Club, and then went rogue, becoming a linchpin in the black market for her drug. Pert was sa

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Book SynopsisAn illustrated history of American innovators -- some well known, some unknown, and all fascinating -- by the author of the bestselling The American Century.Trade Review'Evans's book sticks to the facts and presents them with admirable clarity, and largely avoids illusions' - New York Review of Books 'Quirky and satisfying from the first chapter to the last sidebar' - Washington Post Book World

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Book SynopsisHow Darwin found universal evolutionary truths in simple yet ingenious home-spun experiments.Trade Review"If you’ve ever fantasized walking and conversing with the great scientist on the subjects that consumed him, and now wish to add the fullness of reality, read this book." -- Edward O. Wilson"Darwin’s Backyard, is a passionate but balanced celebration of the Victorian scientist’s lifelong obsession with enquiry and how the fields and meadows around his home were a microcosm of the wider world... Costa more than achieves his stated goals of revealing the evolution of Darwin’s insights and the relevance of his methods now." -- Nature"It is a charming book about Darwin’s homespun experiments…" -- Times Literary Supplement"...excellent Darwin's Backyard... James Costa has written an intimate and big-hearted book. In its pages, readers will discover the real Darwin, a complicated man behind a revolutionary theory." -- Science Lives"With Darwin's Backyard, Costa has written an intimate and big-hearted book. In its pages, young readers will discover the complicated man behind the revolutionary theory." -- Science Magazine"Entertaining." -- David Dobbs - The New York Times Book Review

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Book SynopsisIn 1942, a team at the University of Chicago achieved what no one had before: a nuclear chain reaction. At the forefront of this breakthrough stood Enrico Fermi. Straddling the ages of classical physics and quantum mechanics, equally at ease with theory and experiment, Fermi truly was the last man who knew everything-at least about physics. But he was also a complex figure who was a part of both the Italian Fascist Party and the Manhattan Project, and a less-than-ideal father and husband who nevertheless remained one of history''s greatest mentors. Based on new archival material and exclusive interviews, The Last Man Who Knew Everything lays bare the enigmatic life of a colossus of twentieth century physics.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA masterclass in narrative journalism... with inside-the-room detail and color that give it a cinematic feel * Bradley Hope, co-author of the bestseller BILLION DOLLAR WHALE *Compulsively readable... lively, fun and insightful * William D. Cohan, bestselling author of HOUSE OF CARDS *Tim Higgins's electric narrative takes us through Tesla's every hairpin turn.... [A] case study on the thin line between madness and genius * John Helyar, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller BARBARIANS AT THE GATE *'A deeply reported and business-savvy chronicle of Tesla's wild ride' * Walter Isaacson *Compelling and deeply reported... An exceptional work of business journalism * Washington Post *Simultaneously inspirational and troubling, revealing Elon Musk's risky scrambles to invent the future he's constantly promising to deliver * Sarah Frier, Financial Times prize-winning author of NO FILTER *Readers fascinated by the hype of Tesla history will find a gold mine of facts and foibles in this immersive analysis * Kirkus Reviews *"Exemplary...[Higgins] has interviewed hundreds of people associated with Tesla, both past and present. He knows the financial story like the back of his hand. * The Times *in-depth and well-balanced ... a sometimes appalling, occasionally inspiring, and always entertaining saga * Publishers Weekly *A well-documented and comprehensive look at Tesla, Elon Musk, and the people involved with its creation and successes * Library Journal *[A] sweeping history of the electric-car juggernaut... [Higgins is] right on the button, every time * Los Angeles Times *Tense, detailed and well-crafted... Power Play is a business thriller for real * Associated Press *Outstanding... a deep dive into the nuts and volts of Tesla * Minneapolis Star Tribune *The tale of Tesla's ascent is inherently dramatic and compellingly told * NPR.org *A riveting saga...Power Play reads like a novel * The Free Lance–Star *Eminently readable...A must-read for any fan or critic -- Business Insider

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Book SynopsisWhat did Darwin's work change about the world? Understanding Charles Darwin explodes five misconceptions about Darwin's work and theories, including how 'Darwinism' has been made to stand for things Darwin never stood for. Concise and accessible, this is the myth-busting look at the Darwin you never knew.Trade Review'Erik Peterson's book on Charles Darwin introduces us to Darwin the scientist, Darwin the family man, Darwin the silicone-rich member of British upper-middle-class society, at a time when the Empire was at its peak. Never before have I got to know Charles Darwin more intimately and fully; never before did I realize that such knowledge is absolutely vital to understand the revolution associated with Darwin's name. Highly recommended.' Michael Ruse, University of Guelph, Ontario, and Florida State University'Erik Peterson has given us a fresh, deeply informed, and engaging portrait of Darwin and his revolutionary scientific achievements. Peterson also succeeds admirably in placing Darwin in historical context, both within British society and among his gentlemanly scientific peers. At the same time, this eminently readable account dispels a series of myths and misunderstandings about Darwin's thinking and influence. Of special interest is Peterson's masterful account of Alfred Russel Wallace's independent discovery of the theory of natural selection, together with the various ways that Darwin and Wallace differed in their evolutionary thinking. Altogether, a captivating and richly informative read.' Frank J. Sulloway, University of California, Berkeley'This well-written volume unpacks a host of misunderstandings about Darwin. In attacking the pedestal that many twentieth-century biologists erected, Peterson provides a more balanced view of Darwin while also highlighting commonly overlooked contributions from others. The Captain of the Beagle, Robert FitzRoy, has been portrayed as a Bible-thumping creationist arguing against Darwin's revolutionary insight, but Peterson re-emphasizes how FitzRoy helped stimulate adaptive explanations. The ornithologist John Gould, if he is mentioned at all, is termed Darwin's bird identifier, but Peterson points out that it was Gould, not Darwin, who focused on the significance of the Galapagos beaks. And Peterson's own detailed research on the history of eugenics makes him the perfect foil for the myth that the Holocaust grew out of Darwin's theory. If you want to see Darwin, warts and all, this book takes you there.' Jim Bindon, The University of Alabama'In this delightful book, Erik Peterson explodes numerous fairytales about Darwin's life and influence. Amongst these is the fiction that Darwin was a solitary genius. Peterson's corrective is a story alive with numerous people, many of them now forgotten, who played diverse roles in making Darwin the man he was. Peterson's prose sparkles; it is conversational and engaging.' Elliott Sober, University of Wisconsin–Madison'This crisp account of Darwin, warts and all, shows him finding his distinctive voice among earlier evolutionists, including his grandfather Erasmus, standing his ground between friends who would pull him toward creationism and others who would push him toward atheism, and after his death recruited to this day for a host of dubious causes. Built on thorough knowledge of the extensive archival material and current scholarship, Understanding Charles Darwin will be an eye-opener for students and scholars alike.' David Depew, University of Iowa'What do we really know about Charles Darwin, the man? In this engaging account, Peterson uncovers the true story behind one of history's most iconic and mythologized scientists. Understanding Charles Darwin dismantles several misunderstandings lodged into our collective consciousness, resulting from what Peterson terms 'the Darwin industry.'' Iris Clever, University of ChicagoTable of ContentsIntroduction: The legends of charles darwin; 1. The evolutionary darwins, 1794–1835; 2. The truth about atolls; 3. London calling, 1836–1842; 4. Darwin-wallaceism; 5. '[T]his view of life, with its several powers'; 6. Saint Charles's place; 7. The struggle is real; Conclusion: The legend machine.

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Book SynopsisA rollicking, character-driven narrative by bestselling author Ben Mezrich, Breaking Twitter pulls back the curtain on the biggest business story of our time.Trade ReviewUproarious . . . stimulating enough to keep even an unmedicated narcoleptic awake -- Washington Times on The Accidental Billionaires

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Book SynopsisFollowing their New York Times-bestselling graphic novel Feynman, Jim Ottaviani and Leland Myrick deliver a gripping biography of Stephen Hawking, one of the most important scientists of our time.From his early days at the St Albans School and Oxford, Stephen Hawking's brilliance and good humor were obvious to everyone he met. A lively and popular young man, it's no surprise that he would later rise to celebrity status. At twenty-one he was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative neuromuscular disease. Though the disease weakened his muscles and limited his ability to move and speak, it did nothing to limit his mind. He went on to do groundbreaking work in cosmology and theoretical physics for decades after being told he had only a few years to live. He brought his intimate understanding of the universe to the public in his 1988 bestseller, A Brief History of Time. Soon after, he added pop-culture icon to his accomplishments by playing himself

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Book SynopsisThe epic road tripsand surprising friendshipof John Burroughs, nineteenth-century naturalist, and Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, inventors of the modern ageTrade Review"[An] intriguing history full of lively details." -- Nature

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