Biography: science, technology and medicine Books

Book SynopsisIn 1966 John Berger spent three months in the Forest of Dean shadowing an English country GP, John Sassall. Sassall is a fortunate man - his work occupies and fulfils him, he lives amongst the patients he treats, the line between his life and his work is happily blurred.In A Fortunate Man, Berger's text and the photography of Jean Mohr reveal with extraordinary intensity the life of a remarkable man. It is a portrait of one selfless individual and the rural community for which he became the hub. Drawing on psychology, biography and medicine A Fortunate Man is a portrait of sacrifice. It is also a profound exploration of what it means to be a doctor, to serve a community and to heal.With a new introduction by writer and GP, Gavin Francis.Trade ReviewI only wish I could do justice in a few words to the richness that makes this book so compelling * * Guardian * *A miniature masterpiece of observation and a profound meditation on the nature and value of the doctor-patient relationship -- POLLY MORLANDIn 1967 A Fortunate Man marked the most significant step forward in the collaboration of a writer and photographer since Let us Now Praise Famous Men by Walker Evans and James Agee. Incredibly, it still does . . . A masterpiece -- GEOFF DYERA genuine tour de force . . . The intimate portrait of one man and his microscopic world reveals the faults and strains of a whole society * * Observer * *It's one of my favourite books in the world, an ongoing inspiration as to how books should be written (and photography used) -- ALAIN de BOTTONJohn Berger seems to me peerless; not since Lawrence has there been a writer who offers such attentiveness to the sensual world with responsiveness to the imperatives of conscience -- SUSAN SONTAGA book about caring that will make you care, and a book about deep healing that may heal your soul. It is also, almost 50 years on, uncannily timely -- SIMON GARFIELDThis disturbingly beautiful book will continue to haunt you long after you have set it aside -- RICHARD HOLLOWAYThis extraordinary book unravels the tangled branches of the everyday to reveal the brightness within. It inspires me to think more slowly, more deeply, to wear acquired knowledge lightly, to open my senses more fully to the wonders in the plain and close-at-hand -- JAMES MEEKA masterpiece of witness; a three-way meditation on humanity, society and the value of healing -- GAVIN FRANCIS

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Book SynopsisTHE WORLD''S GREATEST TEST PILOT TELLS HIS STORY ''When you read through his life story, it makes James Bond seem like a bit of a slacker''Kirsty Young, Desert Island Discs''The greatest test pilot who ever lived. A true inspiration''Tim Peake, astronaut and former regular British Army Air Corps officer''The stories beggar belief''Guardian''Fascinating reading . . . His amazing life story is quite literally stranger than fiction''Today''s PilotIn 1939, Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve: and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else.During his lifetime he made a rTrade ReviewThe greatest test pilot who ever lived. A true inspiration -- Tim PeakeWhen you read through his life story, it makes James Bond seem like a bit of a slacker -- Kirsty Young * DESERT ISLAND DISCS *

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Book SynopsisI, WOZ offers readers a unique glimpse into the offbeat and brilliant but ethical mind that conceived the Macintosh. After 25 years avoiding the public eye, Steve Wozniak reveals the full story of the Apple computer, from its conception to his views on the iconic cult status it has achieved today. In June 1975 Steve''s curiosity and determination inspired him to build a computer, the first Apple. Six months later, he sold the machine, and for the self-professed ''engineer''s engineer'', success was imminent. But this story is full of life lessons, critical decisions, huge triumphs and big mistakes. Steve speaks also of his childhood, phone hacking pranks, working at Hewlett-Packard, the life-changing plane crash and teaching.Trade Review'Fascinating' * The Times *'A compelling, first-hand account' * Daily Telegraph *'Full of detail and charm' * The Times *'[An] oddly endearing autobiography... written in a cheery, artless style' * FT magazine *'A small triumph' * Sunday Times *'An honest but quirky biography' * City A.M. *'I, WOZ is essential reading, not just because of the great prose or because it makes revelations...it's real value lies in the reflections of the man who sparked the computer revolution...I, WOZ offers lessons for the next generation: believe in yourself, make do, be honest and work alone. He might have added: "be generous" - it's the way he's led his life' * Sydney Morning Herald *'Wozniak... helped to kick-start the computer revolution. His account of his early geekdom and how all his skills came together to conceive the Apple I and Apple II computers is in many ways the highlight of the book' * Sunday Express *'A valuable book' * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisDiane France is a forensic anthropologist, a bone detective. She has the science skills and know-how to examine bones for clues to a mystery: Who was this person and how did he or she die? This book presents the story of this small-town girl who became a world-famous bone detective.Table of Contents1 Sample Chapter 1: Diane France's Brain

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Book SynopsisThe best-selling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns. In 2012, Nobel Prize winning scientist Jennifer Doudna hit upon an invention that will transform the future of the human race: an easy-to-use tool that can edit DNA. Known as CRISPR, it opened a brave new world of medical miracles and moral questions. It has already been deployed to cure deadly diseases, fight the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and make inheritable changes in the genes of babies.  But what does that mean for humanity? Should we be hacking our own DNA to make us less susceptible to disease? Should we democratise the technology that would allow parents to enhance their kids? After discovering this CRISPR, Doudna is now wrestling these even bigger issues. THE CODE BREAKERS is an examination of how life as we know it is about to change – and a brilliant portrayal of the woman leading the way.

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Book SynopsisAs gripping as it is gruesome, How to Solve a Murder is a fascinating insight into the career of a forensic scientist. Includes a foreword from Dr Richard Shepherd, bestselling author of Unnatural Causes.FRACTURED SKULLS. GAS MASKS. BRAIN BUCKETS. VATS OF ACID. PICKLED BODY PARTS.Not the usual tools of trade, but for Chief Forensic MedicalScientist Derek and Forensic Secretary Pauline they were just part of a normal day in the office inside the world-famous Department of Forensic Medicine at Guy's Hospital in London.Derek has played a pivotal role in investigating some of the UK's most high-profile mass disasters and murder cases. Derek's innovative work on murder cases, in particular, has seen him credited as a pioneer of forensic medical science, after developing ground-breaking techniques that make it easier to secure a conviction and also identify a serial killer.Warmly recalled and brilliantly told, these intriguing revelations will open your eyes to the dark world inhabited by th

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Book SynopsisThe story of Frank Whittle – RAF pilot, mathematician of genius, inventor of the jet engine and British hero. 'Wonderful' David Edgerton, TLS 'A fascinating account' Aeroplane Monthly 'Casts new light on the intense, heroic character of Frank Whittle' Leo McKinstry '[A] thorough dissection of the evolution of the jet engine... I recommend this mighty tome unreservedly' Journal of Aeronautical History 'A long overdue corrective of an extraordinary man' James Hamilton-Paterson 'A fine, deeply researched book' Military History Monthly In 1938, a thirty-one-year-old RAF pilot and engineer named Frank Whittle – given special leave to pursue his own startlingly original concept of flight – presented the Air Ministry with a written proposal for a revolutionary jet-powered fighter aircraft. A ready response might have changed the course of history, but Whittle got no reply. In this gripping and insightful biography, Duncan Campbell-Smith charts Whittle's success at building a pre-war jet engine against all the odds – and tracks his desperate struggle to have it launched into active service against Hitler's Luftwaffe. It arrived too late – but nonetheless transformed the future of aviation.Trade ReviewWonderful at evoking Whittle's extraordinary creative ideas, his mathematical ability, his charm, the support he received, his lack of political nous, as well as the sometimes appalling treatment he received -- David Edgerton, TLSA fascinating account * Aeroplane Monthly *A long overdue corrective account of an extraordinary man -- James Hamilton-PatersonCasts new light on the intense, heroic character of Frank Whittle and his revolutionary invention -- Leo McKinstryThere's much to ponder in this biography of a stoic and overlooked British hero * Choice Magazine *A fine, deeply researched book... [It] does great credit to a true aviation pioneer' * Military History *The author has done a first rate job in illuminating the struggles of this engineering icon in such a gripping manner. That he has made such good use of Whittle's notes and diaries is evident and adds so much to the book. As such, I expect it will become an historical document of some importance... This book is highly commended to all those with an interest in aviation, be they aircraft or engineering enthusiasts' * Pennant *An important and stimulating addition to the literature and highly recommended -- The Aviation Historian[A] thorough dissection of the evolution of the jet engine. Campbell-Smith has climbed every mountain of paper records unearthing the numerous political and technical hurdles from primary sources... I recommend this mighty tome unreservedly * Journal of Aeronautical History *

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Book SynopsisA prismatic look at the meeting of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein and the impact these two pillars of science had on the world of physics, which was in turmoil. In 1911, some of the greatest minds in science convened at the First Solvay Conference in Physics. Almost half of the attendees had won or would go on to win the Nobel Prize. Over the course of those few days, these minds began to realise that classical physics was about to give way to quantum theory, a seismic shift in our history and how we understand not just our world, but the universe. At the centre of this meeting were Marie Curie and a young Albert Einstein. In the years preceding, Curie had faced the death of her husband. She was on the cusp of being awarded her second Nobel Prize, but scandal erupted all around her when the French press revealed that she was having an affair with a fellow scientist, Paul Langevin. The subject of vicious misogynist and xenophobic attacks in the French press, Curie found herself in a storm that threatened her scientific legacy.Albert Einstein proved a supporter in her travails. He was young and already showing flourishes of his enormous genius. Curie had been responsible for one of the greatest discoveries in modern science. Utilising never before seen correspondence and notes, Jeffrey Orens reveals the human side of these brilliant scientists, one who pushed boundaries and demanded equality in a man’s world, no matter the cost, and the other, who was destined to become synonymous with genius.

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Book SynopsisWhen Oliver Sacks was twelve years old, a perceptive schoolmaster wrote in his report: 'Sacks will go far, if he does not go too far'. It is now abundantly clear that Sacks has never stopped going . . .From its opening pages on his youthful obsession with motorcycles and speed, On the Move is infused with his restless energy. As he recounts his experiences as a young neurologist in the early 1960s, first in California and then in New York, where he discovered a long-forgotten illness in the back wards of a chronic hospital, as well as with a group of patients who would define his life, it becomes clear that Sacks's earnest desire for engagement has occasioned unexpected encounters and travels – sending him through bars and alleys, over oceans, and across continents.With unbridled honesty and humour, Sacks shows us that the same energy that drives his physical passions –bodybuilding, weightlifting, and swimming – also drives his cerebral passions. He writes about his love affairs, both romantic and intellectual, his guilt over leaving his family to come to America, his bond with his schizophrenic brother, and the writers and scientists – Thom Gunn, A. R. Luria, W. H. Auden, Gerald M. Edelman, Francis Crick – who influenced him.On the Move is the story of a brilliantly unconventional physician and writer – and of the man who has illuminated the many ways that the brain makes us human.Trade ReviewDeeply moving. . . a gift to his readers - of erudition, sympathy and an abiding understanding of the joys, trials and consolations of the human condition -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *Sacks's empathy and intellectual curiosity, his delight in, as he calls it, "joining particulars with generalities" and, especially, "narratives with neuroscience" - have never been more evident than in his beautifully conceived new book. . .remarkably candid and deeply affecting * Boston Globe *Honest, lucid, passionate, humorous, humane and human (also slightly Martian). . .[a] marvelous memoir, which is as unconventional and singular as the man himself -- Colin McGinn * Wall Street Journal *Absorbing * Chicago Tribune *A fascinating account - a sort of extended case study, really - of Sacks' remarkably active, iconoclastic adulthood. . . .On the Move is filled with both wonder and wonderments * LA Times *Intensely, beautifully, incandescently alive * Newsday *On the Move is as much a dense journal of Sacks's own astonishing, incident-rich life as a meaty handbook on how to live * Globe and Mail *No matter what he writes about - whether struggling to understand what his patients are going through, or describing his love of swimming or photography - Sacks always seems open to learning more. He appears keenly interested in everything and everyone he encounters. He's a wonderful storyteller, a gift he says he inherited from his parents, both of whom were doctors. But as he proves again in his latest . . . book, it's his keen attentiveness as a listener and observer, and his insatiable curiosity, that makes his work so powerful * San Francisco Chronicle *On the Move is entertaining and illuminating and sometimes shocking, and it's given a deep tinge of poignancy by Sacks' public announcement in February that he has terminal cancer. If On the Move is his effort, at age 81 and in the face of death, to record a life well lived, he has succeeded beautifully * Tampa Bay Times *A compelling read. . .The memoir offers a glimpse into one of the greatest minds of our time, made all the more special by the knowledge that it's one of his last gifts to a devoted readership * Men’s Journal *[Sacks'] delving accounts of the invalids he treats have until now stood in stark contrast to his restraint about revealing himself deeply, even though autobiographical threads run through such books as A Leg to Stand On, Uncle Tungsten and Hallucinations. A doctor - concerned, engaging, humane, eccentric and unforthcoming - has occupied the foreground in his self-description. With On the Move, he has finally presented himself as he has presented others: as both fully vulnerable and an object of curiosity. -- Andrew Solomon * New York Times *His truly has been a life lived to the full - and beyond . . . it is the adventure of ideas he has undertaken that has bestowed on his life its remarkable originality -- Will Self * Guardian *[Sacks] could not have written a more breathtaking account of his too-full life. Who knew the most important medical writer of our time was also a complete and total badass? * Men's Fitness *Sacks' zest for life has been extraordinary. . .Coursing through On the Move is his constant sense of joy in the natural world, in scientific epiphanies, and people in all their oddity. . . one of the most singular and inspiring men of our time -- Peter Forbes * Independent *Sacks's accounts are startling in their frankness and express the release of a wise man who, never burdened by snobbery, has also shed that petty encumbrance, embarrassment. . . In February this year Sacks revealed that he has terminal cancer. He wrote in The New York Times that, though not without fear, his predominant feeling is gratitude. "I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return." This book is a remarkable record of those exchanges * London Evening Standard *In this genial and often humorously narrated life, [Sacks] is very much alive and full of passionate energy, as well as of and wry self-awareness . . . He is an astute observer of the life around him. Judging from early motorcycle diaries and writings included here, he could have had an alternative career on the road with Hunter S Thompson * Guardian *Like many of his readers, some months ago I responded with a sense of real personal sadness when reading Sacks' New York Times op-ed announcing his "bad luck" of now facing a terminal cancer. I felt as if a vital window on the world were being closed. On the Move is a glorious memoir that throws open that window and illuminates the world that we have seen through it. In this volume Sacks opens himself to recognition, much as he has opened the lives of others to being recognized in their fullness -- Michael Roth * The Atlantic *This moving book confirms that it is Sacks's expansive passions for learning and for experience that have made his such a vigorous, fascinating and influential life . . .This book is a delight and a fine prompt to return to his earlier work * New Statesman *A lively read and a fascinating insight into a man who changed the way the world sees things. . .revealingand heartbreaking * Courier Mail *What emerges from On the Move is a celebration not just of a life, but of life itself, in all its glorious variousness and possibility. . . [a] joyous whirlwind of a book -- James Bradley * Capital City Daily *A wonderful legacy to leave behind . . .It's an unmitigated pleasure to be in the company of this physician, teacher and storyteller * Big Issue Australia *An affecting read. . .Much will be lost when we can no longer eagerly await the next gift from this dearly loved,stray Santa * The Conversation *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[An] excellent new book." -- Robert Krulwich, NPR "[A] sumptuously illustrated visual biography...Radioactive is an incisive look at science's greatest partnership." -- Vogue "One of the most beautiful books-as-object that I've ever seen." -- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love "[Radioactive is] a deeply unusual and forceful thing to have in your hands. Ms. Redniss's text is long, literate and supple...Her drawings are both vivid and ethereal...Radioactive is serious science and brisk storytelling. The word 'luminous' is a critic's cliche, to be avoided at all costs, but it fits." -- New York Times "Radioactive is quite unlike any book I have ever read-part history, part love story, part art work and all parts sheer imaginative genius." -- Malcolm Gladwell "Absolutely dazzling. Lauren Redniss has created a book that is both vibrant history and a work of art. Like radium itself, Radioactive glows with energy." -- Richard Rhodes, author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, winner of the Pulitzer Prize "Radioactive offer innumerable wonders. Colors suddenly bloom into tremendous feeling, history contracts into a pair of elongated figures locked in an embrace, then expands again in an explosive rush of words. In this wholly original book about passion and discovery Lauren Redniss has invented her own unique form." -- Nicole Krauss, author of The History of Love

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Book SynopsisBased on meticulous research in original sources Goodman illustrates vividly how adept [Banks] was Shining a light on individuals whose achievements are relatively uncelebrated'Jenny Uglow, New York Review of BooksA bold new history of how botany and global plant collecting centred at Kew Gardens and driven by Joseph Banks transformed the earth.Botany was the darling and the powerhouse of the eighteenth century. As European ships ventured across the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, discovery bloomed. Bounties of new plants were brought back, and their arrival meant much more than improved flowerbeds it offered a new scientific frontier that would transform Europe's industry, medicine, eating and drinking habits, and even fashion.Joseph Banks was the dynamo for this momentous change. As botanist for James Cook's great voyage to the South Pacific on the Endeavour, Banks collected plants on a vast scale, armed with the vision as a child of the Enlightenment that to travel physically was to advance intellectually. His thinking was as intrepid as Cook's seafaring: he commissioned radically influential and physically daring expeditions such as those of Francis Masson to the Cape Colony, George Staunton to China, George Caley to Australia, William Bligh to Tahiti and Jamaica, among many others.Jordan Goodman's epic history follows these high seas adventurers and their influence in Europe, as well as taking us back to the early years of Kew Gardens, which Banks developed devotedly across the course of his life, transforming it into one of the world's largest and most diverse botanical gardens.In a rip-roaring global expedition, based on original sources in many languages, Goodman gives a momentous history of how the discoveries made by Banks and his collectors advanced scientific understanding around the world.Trade Review PRAISE FOR PLANTING THE WORLD ‘Goodman turns his attention to the “adventurous history” of the botanists, naturalists, gardeners, and ship captains who carried out his vicarious plant-hunting across the world, shining a light on individuals whose achievements are relatively uncelebrated. The book is particularly strong on the minutiae of planning, negotiating, and financing these ventures, and on the disasters that so often beset them … For each expedition, Goodman builds up a picture based on meticulous research in original sources … Goodman illustrates vividly how adept [Banks] was, all through his career, at piggybacking on different government, diplomatic, and mercantile ventures … Planting the World tracks Banks’s projects in detail and illustrates dramatically how difficult it was to move plants around the world’Jenny Uglow, New York Review of Books ‘A brilliant and authoritative insight into the global reach of Joseph Banks, one of the great figures of the Enlightenment, through the lives of the intrepid botanists, gardeners, and nurserymen whose explorations and adventures made it all possible’Peter Crane 'The story of 18th century European botanists, their ships and voyages, united by the mind and extraordinary energy of Joseph Banks as he developed both the science and gardens of England. It is a marvellous history packed with naval explorations, plant collecting, and the role of individuals in making Britain a major centre for global botany'Janet Browne

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Book SynopsisDame Cicely Saunders was the founder of the Hospice Movement, in which Britain leads the world. Her work transformed our approach to the care of the dying, and also the debate about euthanasia. She died in 2005 and her memorial service was held in Westminster Abbey in March 2006. This biography includes chapters that cover the years after 1984.

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Book SynopsisWhen the Origins of Species was published on 24 November 1859, its author, Charles Darwin, was near the end of a nine-week stay in the remote Yorkshire village of Ilkley. He had come for the ''water cure'' - a regime of cold baths and wet sheets - and for relaxation. But he used his time in Ilkley to shore up support, through extensive correspondence, for the extraordinary theory that the Origin would put before the world: evolution by natural selection. In Darwin in Ilkley, Mike Dixon and Gregory Radick bring to life Victorian Ilkley and the dramas of body and mind that marked Darwin''s visit.

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Book SynopsisIsaac Newton was accorded a semi-divine status in the 18th and 19th centuries, whereby his image linked together religion and science. The real human being behind the demi-god image has tended to be lost. He was a person who took credit from others, and crushed the reputations of those to whom he owed most. This most brilliant of mathematicians could alas be devious, deceptive and duplicitous. This work doesn''t go looking at unpublished alchemical musings as is nowadays fashionable, rather it sticks to the historical record. At the time when the new science was born, we scrutinise the ways in which he failed to discover the law of gravity or invent calculus. What exactly did Leibniz mean by describing him as ''a mind neither fair nor honest''? Why did Robert Hooke describe him as ''the veriest knave in all the house'' and why was the astronomer Flamsteed calling him SIN (Sir Isaac Newton)?We are here concerned to give him credit for what he did discover, which may not be quite what yo

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Book SynopsisThe enthralling Sunday Times-bestselling biography of the shepherd boy who changed the world with his revolutionary engineering and whose genius we still benefit from today''A biography of great verve brings back to vivid life a man who should never have been forgotten'' Andrew MarrAn evocative biography of Britain's greatest civil engineer Glover catches the thrill of Telford's engineering quite beautifully' GuardianThomas Telford''s name is familiar; his story less so. Born in 1757 in the Scottish Borders, his father died in his infancy, plunging the family into poverty. Telford''s life soared to span almost eight decades of gloriously obsessive, prodigiously productive energy. Few people have done more to shape our nation.A stonemason turned architect turned engineer, Telford invented the modern road, built churches, harbours, canals, docks, the famously vertiginous Pontcysyllte aqueduct in Wales and the dramatic Menai BridgeTrade ReviewA biography of great verve … brings back to vivid life a man who should never have been forgotten -- Andrew Marr‘Glover has done detailed research and any other author will struggle to improve on his life of Telford … Man of Iron is a competent, interesting book about an engineer whose star … deserves to shine a little brighter’ -- Simon Heffer * Daily Telegraph *‘An evocative biography of Britain’s greatest civil engineer … An evocative telling of an interesting life, an account that has lots to admire … Glover catches the thrill of Telford’s engineering quite beautifully’ * Guardian *‘A strikingly clear portrait of the man who helped shape Britain. ... A beautifully-written biography, reading almost as a work of classic literature’ * Engineering & Technology *‘Vivid, enthusiastic … Glover makes an enormously readable and persuasive case for Telford’s importance in our national story’ -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times *‘Astonishing and inspiring … Mixing effortless prose with genuine insight has produced an immersive biography that proves hard to put down … The story of Thomas Telford is the story of modern Britain, and never has it been so well told’ * BBC Countryfile *‘Glover has sailed across Telford’s aqueducts, walked his towpaths and tracked down his most obscure Scottish bridges [and his] dedication … has paid off’ -- Harry Mount * Spectator *‘Absorbing … [Glover’s] clear, concise style gives the plain-speaking Telford … a fitting literary treatment’ * Observer *‘Glover has ... been digging in the archives with Telfordian energy to produce a readable book about an overlooked man’ -- Damian Whitworth * The Times *‘This is a fine biography of a man of outstanding genius’ * Who Do You Think You Are? *An engaging new biography which celebrates the achievements of the Borders boy who invented the modern road * Sunday Post *[Glover] has avoided hagiography in this engaging, evocative and very readable tale * Financial Times *He paints a vivid picture of a man who was at once massively gifted, restless, ambitious, arrogant and utterly relentless in pursuit of his projects … A superb biography. Lengthy but rewarding, it sets Telford in the clash, clamour, stink and roar of Britain in the Georgian era * Herald *Julian Glover applies his skills as a journalist to write a very readable biography charting the history of Telford’s work * History Today *Glover digs in the archives with Telfordian energy to produce a readable book about the overlooked man * The Times *Thomas Telford, the great builder of bridges, canals aqueducts, churches and roads, is less famous than say, Christopher Wren or Isambard Kingdom Brunel. After you read this engrossing biography, you will wonder why -- William Leith * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES AND #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - with a new foreword by Silicon Valley legend Marc Andreessen.''For my money, a better book about Jobs than Walter Isaacson''s biography'' New Yorker''A fascinating reinterpretation of the Steve Jobs story'' Sunday TimesWe all think we know who Steve Jobs was, what made him tick, and what made him succeed. Yet the single most important question about him has never been answered. The young, impulsive, egotistical genius was ousted in the mid-80s from the company he founded, exiled from his own kingdom and cast into the wilderness. Yet he returned a decade later to transform the ailing Apple into the most successful company the world had ever seen. How did this reckless upstart transform himself into a visionary business leader? The first comprehensive study of Jobs'' career following his dismissal from Apple, written with unTrade ReviewExhaustive and moving... full of new information * Independent *This is the insider's guide to Steve Jobs. * The Times *A fascinating reinterpretation of the Steve Jobs story. * Sunday Times *The book about Steve Jobs that the world deserves. Smart, accurate, informative, insightful and at times, utterly heartbreaking....Becoming Steve Jobs is going to be an essential reference for decades to come. * John Gruber, Daring Fireball *BECOMING STEVE JOBS is fantastic. After working with Steve for over 25 years, I feel this book captures with great insight the growth and complexity of a truly extraordinary person. I hope that it will be recognized as the definitive history. * Ed Catmull, President, Pixar and Disney Animation *Steve Jobs is the person who most inspires the new generation of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. In this deeply-researched book, you'll find the most honest portrait of the real Steve Jobs. * Marc Andreessen *Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli render a spectacular service with this book, giving fresh perspective on Steve Jobs' journey from inspiring but immature entrepreneur into an inspired and mature company-builder. Most important, they capture Jobs' resilience, his refusal to capitulate, his restless drive to stay in the game, his voracious appetite to learn-this, far more than genius, is what made him great. Becoming Steve Jobs gets the focus precisely right: not as a success story, but as a growth story. Riveting, insightful, uplifting-read it and learn! * Jim Collins, author Good to Great, co-author Built to Last and Great by Choice *One of the best things Brent Schlender and Rick Tetzeli do in writing about Jobs is undoing the 'lone genius' myth, and complicating his persona. * Anil Dash, CEO of ThinkUp *Offers a new look into the life of the Apple co-founder... includes a number of interesting anecdotes and perspectives from those who have rarely spoken of their relationships with Jobs over the decades, all tied together by one of the few reporters to have had access to Jobs on a regular basis throughout that time. * MacRumors *What makes their book important is that they contend - persuasively, I believe - that . . . [Jobs] was not the same man in his prime that he had been at the beginning of his career. The callow, impetuous, arrogant youth who co-founded Apple was very different from the mature and thoughtful man who returned to his struggling creation and turned it into a company that made breathtaking products while becoming the dominant technology company of our time. * Joe Nocera, The New York Times *Square would not exist without the work and persistence of Steve Jobs. I am forever grateful. Amazing read. * Jack Dorsey *Highly recommended. * Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Fortune.com *

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Book SynopsisA unique insight into one of science’s greatest minds of the last half-century. Undoubtedly the most famous name in science and the very face of physics over the last half-century, Stephen Hawking was remarkable for many reasons. Not least because he continued to strive to achieve so much while being hindered by debilitating illness. He demonstrated categorically that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything, no matter your physical state. Of course, it helps if you happen to possess a mind such as he did. His work on black holes put him on the map, and he became globally famous for his A Brief History of Time, communicating the most difficult scientific ideas at a period when he’d lost the ability to speak.

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Book SynopsisLonglisted for the National Book Award for Nonfiction and A New York Times Notable Book of 2018.Our understanding of the tree of life', with powerful implications for human genetics, human health and our own human nature, has recently completely changed.This book is about a new method of telling the story of life on earth through molecular phylogenetics. It involves a fairly simple method the reading of the deep history of life by looking at the variation in protein molecules found in living organisms. For instance, we now know that roughly eight per cent of the human genome arrived not through traditional inheritance from directly ancestral forms, but sideways by viral infection.In The Tangled Tree, acclaimed science writer David Quammen chronicles these discoveries through the lives of the researchers who made them such as Carl Woese, the most important little-known biologist of the twentieth century; Lynn Margulis, the notorious maverick whose wild ideas about mosaic' creatures pTrade ReviewPraise for Tangled Tree: ‘[Quammen] is our greatest living chronicler of the natural world … There are vivacious descriptions on almost every page.’ New York Times ‘In The Tangled Tree, celebrated science writer David Quammen tells perhaps the grandest tale in biology … He presents the science – and the scientists involved – with patience, candour and flair.’ Nature ‘Quammen adds some intriguing new discoveries’ New Scientist Praise for David Quammen: ‘One of that rare breed of science journalists who blends exploration with a talent for synthesis and storytelling’ Nature ‘Mr. Quammen is, by trade, neither professional environmentalist nor scientist. He is a writer. And the book he has worked on for 10 years is intelligent, playful and refreshingly free of cant … In Mr. Quammen’s hands, the bad news of species extinction unaccountably uplifts. For it reminds us of nature’s sheer, ornery diversity, and why it needs to be preserved. We share in the excitement of a new scientific discipline aborning. By book’s end, we glean hints of hope that the future may not be entirely bleak … Here is what a book can be’The New York Times Book Review ‘Quammen is no ordinary writer. He is simply astonishing, one of that rare class of writer gifted with verve, ingenuity, humour, guts, and great heart’ Elle

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Book SynopsisNow a major film starring Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy and Kyle Chandler, directed by Oscar-winner Damien Chazelle, First Man by James Hansen offers the only authorized glimpse into the life of America’s most famous astronaut, Neil Armstrong – the man whose “one small step” changed history. In First Man, Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over 50 hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this “magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century” (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon. When Apollo 11 touched down on the moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the moon became a legend. Hansen vividly recreates Armstrong's career in flying, from his seventy-eight combat missions as a naval aviator Trade Review'Let it be said at once that his book is an outstanding success. It has been immaculately researched and is packed with detail, but written in a way that will appeal to readers of all kinds...this is an important book, and should be in every scientific library.' -- Sir Patrick Moore * Times Higher Educational Supplement *‘The man was a fine engineer, a good pilot – although there is some dispute about that – patriotic, cool, courageous and hard-working, just the sort of guy you want next to you when the chips are down.' * Sunday Times *'Although he was the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong has always been the least public of the Apollo 11 astronauts. He has seldom given interviews, or lent his name to merchandising tat, or haunted the same professional old-boy circuit as his former colleagues... But at 75, he’s finally decided to break his silence - or to have it broken for him by his official biographer, James R.Hansen.’ * Sunday Telegraph *'To understand Armstrong on his own terms is to see a large truth of our time...[Hansen’s] mastery of detailis put to splendid use. The narrative of the moon mission is crisp and dramatic, the science clear. He deftly takes us back into those few days of global fascination with the adventure of the three distant voyagers and the tense uncertainty about how it would turn out...I finished Hansen’s Apollo story with a wholly fresh sense of awe at the magnitude of NASA’s achievement...a compelling and nuanced portrait of the astronaut.' -- James Tobin * Chicago Tribune *'To understand Armstrong on his own terms is to see a large truth of our time...[Hansen’s] mastery of detailis put to splendid use. The narrative of the moon mission is crisp and dramatic, the science clear. He deftly takes us back into those few days of global fascination with the adventure of the three distant voyagers and the tense uncertainty about how it would turn out...I finished Hansen’s Apollo story with a wholly fresh sense of awe at the magnitude of NASA’s achievement...a compelling and nuanced portrait of the astronaut.' -- U.S. Navy Captain William Readdy * Aviation Week & Space Technology *'Most of the astronauts’ books are about the adventure. Jim Hansen’s well researched and documented book is about the adventurer. First Man is a compelling story of a modern-day Columbus which provides the rare opportunity to understand the personal qualities driving explorers. Quiet, complex, and deep, Armstrong, as fuel was running out, was the right man at the right time to take America and the world to the surface of the moon.' -- Eugene F. Kranz, author of Failure Is Not an Option'A powerful, unrelenting biography of a man who stands as a living testimony to everyday grit and determination... A must for astronaut buffs and history readers alike.' * Publishers Weekly *'Ever since Apollo 11’s "one giant leap for mankind" in 1969 the world has wondered who Neil Armstrong really is. Now, at last, Jim Hansen has stripped away the myths and mysteries to bring us face to face with the man himself. This definitive portrait offers many new and fascinating details about Armstrong and his life and about the momentous and unforgettable era of exploration in which he was lucky enough—and talented enough—to play a key role.' -- Andrew Chaikin, author of A Man on the Moon'This impressively documented and engagingly written biography will stand the test of time.' * Library Journal *'Masterfully written...technically accurate, scholarly yet independent and accessible...Mission accomplished and a perfect touchdown.' -- Leonard David * Ad Astra, The Magazine of the National Space Society *'Hansen’s research is staggeringly impressive... A work that has great appeal for anyone interested in why we explore, who we are in this aerospace age, and what it was about the United States that could enable a little kid from Wapakoneta, Ohio, to take that "one small step" at Tranquility Base in the summer of 1969. A must read!' -- Richard P. Hallion, chief historian for the U.S. Air Force'Jim Hansen has captured the essence of Neil Armstrong, not only as the first man on the Moon, but also as an outstanding aviator and astronaut. I was there for Neil’s other major "space step"—he recovered Gemini 8 from the ultimate end game with aggressive action, cool skill and creative judgement seldom performed in any aviation or space endeavor. Just 16 days after the deaths of the Gemini 9 crew, he probably saved the Moon. Jim Hansen has written an exceptional and accurate account of a unique period in aerospace history and the adventures of Neil Armstrong.' -- Dave Scott, Gemini VIII, Apollo 9, Commander, Apollo 15

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Book SynopsisWhat makes a quark? How many quarks make a proton? How many protons make an oxygen atom? How many oxygen atoms make a carbon dioxide molecule? How many carbon atoms make you? In this accessible little book, packed with helpful diagrams and interesting information, science writer Matt Tweed takes us on a whirlwind tour into the tiny realms, the stuff we are all made of, the building blocks of the material world, the elements of chemisty.Trade ReviewWooden Books are: "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

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Book SynopsisFromthe Wall Street Journal's Tripp Mickle, the dramatic, untold story inside Apple after the passing of Steve Jobs by following his top lieutenantsJony Ive, the Chief Design Officer, and Tim Cook, the COO-turned-CEOand how the fading of the former and the rise of the latter led to Apple losing its soul.Steve Jobs called Jony Ive his spiritual partner at Apple. The London-born genius was the second-most powerful person at Apple and the creative force who most embodies Jobs's spirit, the man who designed the products adopted by hundreds of millions the world over: the iPod, iPad, MacBook Air, the iMac G3, and the iPhone. In the wake of his close collaborator's death, the chief designer wrestled with grief and initially threw himself into his work designing the new Apple headquarters and the Watch before losing his motivation in a company increasingly devoted more to margins than to inspiration.In many ways, Cook was Ive's opposite. The product of a small Alabama town, he had risen through the ranks from the supply side of the company. His gift was not the creation of new products. Instead, he had invented countless ways to maximize a margin, squeezing some suppliers, persuading others to build factories the size of cities to churn out more units. He considered inventory evil. He knew how to make subordinates sweat with withering questions.Jobs selected Cook as his successor, and Cook oversaw a period of tremendous revenue growth that has lifted Apple's valuation to $3 trillion. He built a commanding business in China and rapidly distinguished himself as a master politician who could forge global alliances and send the world's stock market into freefall with a single sentence.Author Tripp Mickle spoke with more than 200 current and former Apple executives, as well as figures key to this period of Apple's history, including Trump administration officials and fashion luminaries such as Anna Wintour while writing After Steve. His research shows the company's success came at a cost. Apple lost its innovative spirit and has not designed a new category of device in years. Ive's departure in 2019 marked a culmination in Apple's shift from a company of innovation to one of operational excellence, and the price is a company that has lost its soul.Trade Review“Mickle penetrates the veil of secrecy shrouding one of the great dramas of modern business history: how Apple not only survived but thrived after the death of its brilliant, charismatic founder – and at what personal cost to his successors, Tim Cook and Jony Ive. After Steve is both a feat of reporting on what may be the most secretive company in the world and a gripping narrative that brings readers inside the “Spaceship,” Apple’s futuristic headquarters.” – James B. Stewart, author of New York Times bestsellers Den of Thieves, Blood Sport and DisneyWar “Pulls off the rare feat of illuminating Apple's spiritual misdirections through the life and times of Jony Ive before and after Steve Jobs's death. This extraordinary book has a lot of heart, but also lessons on how a visionary company can lose its soul in search of even greater profits." – Bradley Hope, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Billion Dollar Whale “Mickle pierced Apple's culture of omerta to deliver an intimate portrait of how Steve Jobs's top disciples – Tim Cook, the inscrutable operator, and Jony Ive, the passionate artist – grappled with the loss of their master and their own differences to bring his creation to unprecedented success.” – Sara Gay Forden, author of House of Gucci and editor at Bloomberg News “A thrilling account of the characters, intrigues, and decisions that drove Apple to become the world’s most valuable corporation. After Steve is sure to become the definitive account of the post-Jobs era at Apple.”– Bhu Srinivasan, author of Americana “A fascinating look at Apple in the post-Jobs era. Mickle highlights the link between professional dynamics and personal relationships and how large-cap companies need different skills as they scale. A master class in how creatives and operators work together to build value.” – Scott Galloway, best-selling author of The Four and Post Corona

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Book SynopsisD.W. Winnicott''s remarkable books, including The Piggle, Home Is Where We Start From and The Child, Family and the Outside World (all published by Penguin) are still read, valued and argued with over thirty years after his death. Adam Phillips''s short book, now issued with a new preface, is an elegant, thoughtful attempt to get to grips with a writer, paediatrician and psychiatrist whose work with children and mothers (and the wider implications their relationship has for all of us) continues to be profoundly relevant and fascinating.Trade ReviewThe best living essayist writing in EnglishHe's brilliantPhillips radiates infectious charm * Sunday Times *Reading Phillips, you may be amused, vexed, dazzled. But the one thing you will never be is bored * Observer *He is perhaps single-handedly continuing the tradition of the world's best essayists

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Book SynopsisGeoffrey Cain, while living in South Korea, covered Asia and technology for The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and other publications.Trade ReviewA gripping read... Cain knows his material * Financial Times *A brisk, balanced telling of the Samsung story. * New York Times Book Review *Samsung Rising reads like a dynastic thriller, rolling through three generations of family intrigue, embezzlement, bribery, corruption, prostitution and other bad behavior… wonderfully informative. * Wall Street Journal *With Samsung Rising, Geoffrey Cain shines an incisive and entertaining light into the secretive world of the South Korean technology giant, whose ambitions and idiosyncrasies are shaping our digital lives in ways we probably can't imagine * Brad Stone, author of THE EVERYTHING STORE and THE UPSTARTS *Reads like a thriller, whipping us through the dramatic story of the world’s largest technology company * Daniel Tudor, author of KOREA: THE IMPOSSIBLE COUNTRY *

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Book SynopsisExplorers and travellers have always been attracted by the lure of the unknown. By traversing and mapping our planet, they have played a vital role in mankind''s development. For almost two hundred years, the Royal Geographical Society has recognised their achievements by awarding its prestigious gold medals to those who have contributed most to our knowledge of the world.Taking us on a journey across mountains and deserts, oceans and seas, Exploring the World tells the stories of more than eighty of these extraordinary men and women. Some, such as David Livingstone, Scott of the Antarctic and Jacques-Yves Cousteau, are well known; whilst others, such as William Chandless and Ney Elias, are today less familiar. Some dreamed of being the first to sight a lake or a river; others sighted some of the world''s greatest natural features by chance. Some were naturalists, anthropologists or mountaineers; others went in search of explorers who had vanished without trace, or haTrade ReviewNearly all of the men and women covered are worthy of a book in their own right, and many of the big names are here: Richard Burton, David Livingstone, Colonel Percy Fawcett, Alfred Russel Wallace, Eric Shipton, Gertrude Bell and Dame Freya Stark. What emerges as the tales layer up is the inspiring singularity of so many of these intrepid individuals. They aren't all high-achieving head girl/boy types, but instead come across as often unconventional and intractable, occasionally irrational, but nearly always resolute, even in their aberrance * GEOGRAPHICAL *Bristling with heroic tales of indomitable characters forcing their way in impossible circumstances through forests, over mountains and across deserts in search of a better understanding of this world . . . as a busy person's eyebrow-raising page-turner, this book is hard to beat * COUNTRY LIFE *A model biography of the explorer . . . Maitland has separated reality from legend . . . Meticulous research is illuminated by Maitland's evocations of Thesiger's affinity with a world characterised by desert romance * Sunday Telegraph on WILFRED THESIGER *A worthy testament to an exceptional life * Independent on Sunday on WILFRED THESIGER *Masterly * The Times on WILFRED THESIGER *Thesiger was compared to the greatest travellers of the Victorian age . . . Maitland captures that strange attractiveness, his undoubted love and understanding of a now-vanished world * Financial Times on WILFRED THESIGER *This thorough biography will be fascinating to Thesiger aficionados * Mail on Sunday on WILFRED THESIGER *Maitland has done justice to an extraordinary subject * Scotsman on WILFRED THESIGER *In this important biography of one of England's great legendary figures, Wilfred Thesiger's life and works are analysed in minute detail . . . it reads like an adventure story * Country Life on WILFRED THESIGER *

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Book SynopsisAn engaging and original history of the first hundred years of DNA, one of the greatest triumphs of modern science.Trade ReviewGareth Williams, the former dean of medicine at Bristol University, has woven a truly superb narrative from short biographies of all the scientists who contributed to, and in some cases just missed out on, the epochal discovery that the secret of life is a digital linear code written on DNA ... By choosing to fill in the gaps in conventional accounts, Williams has done a good job of telling the whole story of science's greatest discovery. He has done it with fluency and a real feel for narrative -- Matt Ridley * The Times *This is a FANTASTIC book -- Professor Alice Roberts via Twitter (@theAliceRoberts)...a riveting good read...Not only did I find it hard to put down, I'm now moved to seek out other science histories by Williams. Highly recommended. * CHEMISTRY WORLD *

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Book SynopsisA powerful memoir of a molecular biologist's courageous fight against corporate retaliation after revealing dangerous biosafety failures in biotech labs.

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

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Book SynopsisThe official book behind the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley Alan Turing was the mathematician whose cipher-cracking transformed the Second World War. Taken on by British Intelligence in 1938, as a shy young Cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. In 1940 his machines were breaking the Enigma-enciphered messages of Nazi Germany’s air force. He then headed the penetration of the super-secure U-boat communications. But his vision went far beyond this achievement. Before the war he had invented the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the first design for a digital computer.Turing's far-sighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for Artificial Intelligence. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. In 1954, aged 41, Alan Turing took his own life.Trade ReviewOne of the finest scientific biographies I’ve ever read: authoritative, superbly researched, deeply sympathetic and beautifully told * Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind *Andrew Hodges' book is of exemplary scholarship and sympathy. Intimate, perceptive and insightful, it’s also the most readable biography I’ve picked up in some time * Time Out *A first-rate presentation of the life of a first-rate scientific mind * New York Times Book Review *One of the finest scientific biographies ever written * New Yorker *A first-rate presentation of the life of a first-rate scientific mind…it is hard to imagine a more thoughtful and warm biography than this one -- Douglas Hofstadter * New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisThe only scientist to ever appear on the British twenty pound note, Michael Faraday is one of the most recognisable names in the history of science.Faraday's forte was electricity, a revolutionary force in nineteenth-century society. The electric telegraph had made mass-communication possible and inventors looked forward to the day when electricity would control all aspects of life. By the end of the century, this dream was well on its way to being realised. But what was Faraday's role in all this? How did his science come to have such an impact on the lives of the Victorians (and ultimately on us)?Iwan Morus tells the story of Faraday's upbringing in London and his apprenticeship at the Royal Institution under the supervision of the flamboyant chemist, Sir Humphry Davy, all set against the backdrop of a vibrant scientific culture and an empire near the peak of its power.

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Book SynopsisWelcome to the life of Dr Max Skittle. Therapist, relationship counsellor, social worker, friend, parent-figure - and, yes: doctor.Join Max - and his patients - as he takes us on a rollercoaster journey through a year in the life of a doctor: from infected toenails, to wonky elbows, to erectile disfunction, to bed bugs; the happy couple expecting a surprise new baby; the teenage girl struggling with body image issues; the loving family grappling with grief, Max shows us all the highs and crushing lows that come with being a GP - and how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed all our lives forever.This is what really goes on in your local doctor's surgery - spilt urine bottles, existential crises, emails back and forth with social services, utterly unexplainable health problems and appointments always running late - told by a man who, despite it all, really loves his job.

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Book SynopsisEven in the third decade of the twenty-first century, it is still harder for women to make a career in science than men. Two centuries ago, however, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, when science as we know it was just getting started, the situation was far worse. Then, the very notion of a female scientist would have been regarded as something of an oxymoron. From bestselling and award-winning science writers John and Mary Gribbin, Against the Odds highlights the achievements of women who overcame hurdles and achieved scientific success (although not always as much as they deserved) in spite of male prejudice, as society changed over about 150 years, from the middle of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. There is Eunice Newton Foote, who discovered the carbon dioxide greenhouse effect; Chien-Shiung Wu, who discovered the law which allows matter to exist in the Universe today; and Barbara McClintock, who discovered how genes turn on and off. With a foreword from astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, this book is not only a cautionary tale about the stifling effects of prejudice against women in science, but a celebration of those who achieved success against the odds - and an inspiration for the next generation.

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Book SynopsisThe forgotten garden that inspired Charles Darwin becomes the modern-day setting for an exploration of memory, family, and the legacy of genius. Darwin’s childhood garden at The Mount in Shrewsbury was the site of some of the great scientist’s earliest experiments. It was where, under the tutelage of his green-fingered mother and sisters, and the house’s knowledgeable gardeners, he first examined the reproductive life of flowers, collected birds’ eggs, and began to note down the ideas that would lead to his groundbreaking theory of evolution. In The Ghost in the Garden, Jude Piesse uncovers the lost histories that inspired Darwin’s work and how his legacy, and the legacies of those around him, live on today.Trade Review‘[Q]uirky [and] gloriously unclassifiable … Ms. Piesse’s The Ghost in the Garden, with its many asides, intensely personal stories, and sometimes delightfully unrelated material … offers a radiant literary analogue for such botanical unpredictability.’ -- Christoph Irmscher * The Wall Street Journal *‘A fascinating and very personal book in which Darwin’s relationship to his family’s garden reflects directly on his visionary understanding of the natural world in its entirety. A delight!’ -- Julia Blackburn, author of Thin Paths‘What is special about The Ghost in the Garden is the combination of research with an empathetic imagination that enables Piesse to show how much Darwin was influenced by the seven-acre estate over which he had roamed as a boy … Piesse is a conscientious reporter.’ -- Miranda Seymour * Financial Times *‘Jude Piesse’s beautiful piece of detective work, The Ghost in the Garden, uncovers and brings to life the place that inspired the curiosity and spirit of enquiry of the boy and man who would become probably the most influential thinker and scientist in history: Charles Darwin. What makes this book so emotionally beguiling is the way the tale unfolds of an ordinary, yet handsome provincial house with a garden — and that was all it took. It moved me because inside Piesse’s book she could be describing every boy and girl free to roam and encouraged to explore, and you can feel the melancholy ghost of your own lost youth and heartbreak for those millions without the good fortune to have that freedom. It is a small story with a huge overtone that will stay with you long after the last page is turned.’ -- Sir Tim Smit, Executive Vice Chair & Co-Founder of the Eden Project‘There are two ghosts in the garden here: the young Charles aboard the Beagle, writing salt-stained letters to his sisters, and the figure of Jude Piesse herself, author of this tender and unexpected memoir. Slightly at sea herself in a new job, at one point marooned in her new office by flood water, she gives a vivid picture of the obsessiveness of research: the hallucinogenic quality of the trees as she paces the overgrown garden, the feel of the manuscripts as she pores over the sisters’ letters in nine-hour stints in the library, a young woman navigating a course through early motherhood and the world of academe.’ -- Katherine Swift, author of The Morville Hours‘The Ghost in the Garden is intelligent, curious, and moving nonfiction. It brings together biography, history, horticulture, and memoir — and does so with style and poignancy. Like the finest gardeners, Jude Piesse has laboured to give us something beautiful but also challenging; something that offers comforts without letting us get too comfortable with ourselves.’ -- Damon Young, author of Philosophy in the Garden‘Jude Piesse’s The Ghost in the Garden is a fascinating, beautifully written blend of biography, memoir, nature-writing, psychogeography, and history of science. Piesse shows us the human, quotidian world of the Darwin clan through the story of her discovery of their places and their stories, and the way they helped to seed Charles Darwin’s world-changing discoveries. In doing so, Piesse beautifully evokes what it is to be obsessed with a place, even when it no longer, quite, exists.’ -- Emma Darwin‘What is special about The Ghost in the Garden is the combination of research with an empathetic imagination that enables Piesse to show how much Darwin was influenced by the seven-acre estate over which he had roamed as a boy … Piesse is a conscientious reporter.’ -- Miranda Seymour * Financial Times *‘It’s very well written, a beautiful book.’ -- Professor Luke O'Neill * Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute *‘Skillfully blending memoir and biography … the result is an original take on a giant of science.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Absorbing … Unexpected, fresh, and revealing … a joy.’ -- Helen Bynum * Literary Review *‘Well written and well researched.’ * Saga Magazine *

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Book SynopsisIn this stunning memoir, beloved internationally acclaimed earth advocate chronicles her journey to reconnect with the earth, offering a model for how we all can nurture the wild around and inside ourselves.In 1991, twenty-four-year-old Lynx Vilden crawled out of a sweat lodge covered in mud, her face streaked with tears, and whispered a promise to the earth: “I will love you and cherish you, I will learn how to live and share what you teach me.” That promise became Vilden’s life purpose: to return to the ways of our oldest ancestors, to a simpler life, and to listen deeply to Earth and what she has to say. Over the next thirty years, Vilden’s mission would lead her far from the city streets and punk bands of London and Amsterdam where she was raised, on a long and winding journey spanning continents and seasons, and filled with indigenous wisdom, Stone Age hunting skills, and important lessons from nature.In this illuminating memoir, Vilden shares the joys that await all of us when we reconnect with the earth, when we recognize what has been lost, and understand what we gain by meaningfully returning to our roots and become rewilded. Return is a glimpse into her extraordinary world—from stories about mentoring Silicon Valley millennials at her Stone Age immersion in rural Washington State to adventures traveling among Sami reindeer herders in Arctic Sweden to detailing the intricacies of just how to pursue and survive a wild lifestyle inspired by Stone Age humans.This extraordinary debut ultimately invigorates our hunger to renew our bonds with the earth and awaken our wildest, most primal selves.Trade Review"Lynx Vilden's life has been an atavistic quest to find, and perhaps even recover, some fundamental meaning and substance that still lurks in our most elemental human nature. Here, Lynx has shared her life's work– her relentless passion to explore, identify, and recapture the organic and symbiotic relevance of the human experience. In Return, this remarkable woman has faithfully sought and truly found the marrow in the bone." — Joe Hutto, author of Illumination in the Flatwoods, The Light in High Places, and Touching the Wild “ …an exploration of what a closer relationship with the natural world can offer us…a spirited debut. A rigorous, colorful portrait of true wilderness living.” — Kirkus “[A] mesmerizing and ethereal autobiography mixed with aspects of spirituality…” — Booklist "Return is a story of a remarkable woman who is living the Stone-Age ways. For Lynx, the past, present and future are intertwined. By learning the skills of our ancestors, she reminds Mankind of our forgotten abilities." — Miriam Lancewood, author of international bestseller Woman in the Wilderness

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Book SynopsisUncle Tungsten radiates all the delight and wonder of a boy’s adventures, and is an unforgettable portrait of an extraordinary young mind.Oliver Sacks evokes, with warmth and wit, his upbringing in wartime England. He tells of the large science-steeped family who fostered his early fascination with chemistry. There follow his years at boarding school where, though unhappy, he developed the intellectual curiosity that would shape his later life. And we hear of his return to London, an emotionally bereft ten-year-old who found solace in his passion for learning. ‘If you did not think that gallium and iridium could move you, this superb book will change your mind’ – The TimesTrade ReviewThis book is both a heartwarming account of a delightful, eccentric family life and an inspiring record of a remarkable intellectual odyssey. * Mail on Sunday *The amalgamation of personal recollection and scientific history makes a luminous, inspiring book. * Sunday Telegraph *Uncle Tungsten is really about the raw joy of scientific understanding; what it is like to be a precocious child discovering the alchemical secrets of reality for the first time: the sheer thrill of finding intelligible patterns in nature. * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisA personal and literary examination of hypochondria.A free-wheeling philosophical essay, Hypochondria combines cultural critique, literary history, and Rees’s own experience of health anxiety to ask what we might learn from the hypochondriac’s discomforting experience of their body.Hypochondria is unashamedly capacious in its range of references, from the writings of Robert Burton, Franz Kafka and Charlotte Brontë to original yet accessible readings of theorists like Lauren Berlant and Maurice Blanchot. Whether he is discussing Seinfeld, John Donne or his own hypochondriac past, Rees reveals himself to be a wry and perceptive critic, exploring the causes - and the costs - of our desire for certainty.An exercise in what Freud calls “evenly suspended attention,” Hypochondria demonstrates the rewards and the perils of reading (too) closely the common but typically overlooked aspects of our everyday lives."In Hypochondria, Will Rees pulls off an almost impossible balancing act. He recalls his personal history with great clarity and vulnerability, and he assembles a dazzling archive of his fellow writers and hypochondriacs: Melville, Kafka, Freud, Sartre, Didion. Hypochondria, Rees shows us, is a specific case of fantasizing about what we cannot know - we are all, in our own ways, hypochondriacs." - Merve Emre, author of The Personality Brokers"I marvelled at this elegant and intellectually capacious book. Unmoored by its elusive subject, Rees innovates an utterly engrossing mode of inquiry that seems forged from the very material of hypochondria itself — radical doubt. And, like all good hypochondriacs, this book is many things at once: a philosophical intrigue, a meticulous catalogue of symptoms, a literature of writerly ailments, and a gripping tale of desire’s shadow. Here are hypochondria’s many indignities, but also its raptures and romance. What emerges from Rees’s ability to dwell in uncertainty is proof of doubt’s generative potential; its questions are insistent and hard-won vital signs. What if we are what we read? What if health is little more than blissful ignorance? What if we can never be sure of just how sick we really are?" - Daisy Lafarge, author of Paul"Hypochondria is a beautifully written, exacting, exquisite piece of literature and an urgent intervention into a deeply necessary conversation that has languished in the shadows for far too long. This book is as clever as it is brave, and it will change and move everyone who reads it. To capture the intricacies of our relationship with illness, both individually and in our collective consciousness, is one of the most difficult things a writer can do - Will has done it perfectly. Everyone must read this book." - Lucia Osborne-Crowley, author of The Lasting Harm"''The position of hypochondria has never been less certain,'' Will Rees writes in this extraordinary and utterly compelling new book. Part personal memoir, and part riveting history of the fateful and absorbing uncertainty that is hypochondria, this book will be an illumination for anyone who has ever wondered if they are ill." - Adam Phillips, author of On Giving Up

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of the No. 1 bestseller WEDLOCK, the story of two pioneering men of science, and a nation in thrall to mesmerism...Trade ReviewWendy Moore has written a thrilling account of this odd byway of medical history...she has successfully taken a historical episode and used it to colour in the world of 19th-century scientific endeavour and its attempts to uncover the still-unexplained mysteries of the human unconscious -- Lucy Lethbridge * LITERARY REVIEW *Engrossing...her social history of Victorian medicine, which struggled with innovation and provision for the poor, also feels rivetingly topical...[A] witty and instructive tale -- Miranda Seymour * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Elliotson, as Moore's engrossing study describes, became passionate about hypnosis, under which (he tried to prove) a patient could have surgery without pain. His demonstrations became as fashionable as any theatre - but was it fraud? * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *The enthralling story of the Victorian doctor who claimed patients could be cured and operated on with hypnosis - only to be branded a fraud by the medical establishment. Today he's been triumphantly vindicated * DAILY MAIL *Charles Dickens, as it happens, has a cameo role in Moore's book. Sceptical at first about the powers of mesmerism, the novelist became a convert after witnessing one of the many sessions run by John Elliotson, the doctor who helped to start a craze for putting Londoners, sick and healthy alike, into trances -- Clive Davis * THE TIMES *Lively...Moore tells her story with gusto -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * THE OBSERVER *Fascinating...she brings the London medical world to vivid life. Elliotson's experiments were covered in lavish detail by contemporary journals, but Moore has made this an altogether richer story by judicious use of details gleaned from diaries, case reports and hospital archives -- Thomas Morris * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *Medicine in Victorian Britain was brutish and operations were performed without anaesthetic. Enter the self-styled Baron Dupotet, promoting hypnosis. Crowds flocked to see Elizabeth and Jane Okey mesmerised then suffer electric shocks or have nails hammered through their cheeks. So was his mesmerism quackery or real medical aid? -- John Lewis Stempel * SUNDAY EXPRESS *The idea of a higher, healing state took 19th-century society by storm but, as this lively book shows, it was to prove controversial * HISTORY REVEALED *Wendy Moore is an expert guide to the world of early 19th-century medicine, and this fascinating book is packed with buccaneering, larger-than-life doctors and gruesome operations, as well as the minutely documented antics of the Okey sisters. UCH in those times was evidently a much livelier place than it is today under our dear old NHS -- Jane Ridley * THE SPECTATOR *As in all her works, Moore provides evidence of meticulous research with copious notes to be appreciated by the medical historian and her acknowledgements demonstrate the breadth of her consultation...an invaluable addition to the literature on the struggle between science and superstition. -- Elizabeth Wood * BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE *Highly readable and entertaining -- Julie Peakman * HISTORY TODAY *The author's dry asides combined with the unsentimental light she sheds on medical experimentation make this an informative and riveting page turner -- Philippa Stockley * COUNTRY LIFE *

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Book SynopsisWith over fifty patents to his name and innumerable awards and accolades, James Lovelock was a distinguished and original thinker, widely recognized by the international scientific community. In this inspiring book, republished in the year of his 100th birthday, Lovelock tells his life story, from his first steps as a scientist to his work with organisations as diverse as NASA, Shell and the Marine Biological Association. Homage to Gaia describes the years of travel and work that led to his crucial scientific breakthroughs in environmental awareness, uncovering how CFCs impact on the ozone layer and creating the concept of Gaia, the theory that the Earth is a self-regulating system. Written in a sharp and energetic style, James Lovelock's book will entertain and inspire anyone interested in science or the creative spirit beyond his legacy.Trade ReviewThere is much more than science in this book ... This is ultimately an uplifting book about the way life ought to be, both at a personal and at a global level * Sunday Times *His 'Gaia hypothesis' is certainly heroic, with all the illusion-busting potential of Gallileo's or Einstein's theories * Independent *The scientist who, more than any other alive today, has changed the way we think of the earth and our place on it -- John Gray * New Statesman *Daring, exciting, original * Scientific American *Lovelock writes beautifully ... Only a genius thinks of the obvious, and Lovelock deserves to be described as a genius * New Scientist *The breath-taking sweep of his central idea - that the earth is a living, self-regulating organism - poses the most dramatic challenge to scientists, politicians, and environmentalists. -- Jonathon PorrittLovelock will go down in history as the scientist who changed our view of the Earth -- John Graya man as inventive and ingenious as he is lively and unorthodox * Scientific American *

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Book SynopsisIn OPPENHEIMER Christopher Nolan has fashioned a story of discovery bathed in the light of a thousand suns - but one that is darkened by govrrnment surveillance and the travesty of a trial to which Oppenheimer was subjected.

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Book SynopsisAt a time when medicine is a highly sought-after career for Indian women, it is hard to imagine what it was like for the pioneers. The story of how firmly they were bound in fetters of family, caste and society, and how fiercely they fought to escape, needs to be told. In Lady Doctors, Kavitha Rao unearths the extraordinary stories of six women from the 1860s to the 1930s, who defied the idea that they were unfit for medicine by virtue of their gender. From Anandibai Joshi, who broke caste rules by crossing an ocean, to Rukhmabai Raut, who escaped a child marriage, divorced her husband and studied to be a doctor; from Kadambini Ganguly, who took care of eightchildren while she worked, to child widow Haimabati Sen, who overcame poverty and hardship-these women had a profound and lasting impact. And in their forgotten lives lie many lessons for modern women. In truth, the compelling stories of these radical women have been erased from our textbooks and memories, because histories have mostly been written by men, about men. In an immensely readable narrative, and with impeccable research, Lady Doctors rectifies this omission.

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