Biography: science, technology and medicine Books

Book SynopsisAugust, 1755. Newcastle, on the north bank of the Tyne.In the fields, men and women are getting the harvest in. Sunlight, or rain. Scudding clouds and backbreaking labour. Three hundred feet underground, young Charles Hutton is at the coalface. Cramped, dust-choked, wielding a five-pound pick by candlelight. Eighteen years old, he's been down the pits on and off for more than a decade, and now it looks like a life sentence. No unusual story, although Charles is a clever lad gifted at maths and languages and for a time he hoped for a different life. Many hoped.Charles Hutton, astonishingly, would actually live the life he dreamed of. Twenty years later you'd have found him in Slaughter's coffee house in London, eating a few oysters with the President of the Royal Society.By the time he died, in 1823, he was a fellow of scientific academies in four countries, while the Lord Chancellor of England counted himself fortunate to have known him. Hard work, talent, and no small share of luck Trade ReviewPraise for Gunpowder and Geometry ‘Benjamin Wardhaugh tells an almost incredible story of a boy working down the put hewing coal who went on to become a great mathmatician and national celebrity. He brings both the coal industry and Georgian London to life with style and wit.’ Matt Ridley Praise for Benjamin Wardhaugh: ‘Wardhaugh has done a brilliant job in revealing a most curious period in British life’ Steve Craggs, Northern Echo ‘Mathematics remains a bedrock of our society. This wonderful book goes a long way in highlighting why.’ Jamie Condliffe, New Scientist ‘Wardhaugh's fascinating account of Poor Robin's Almanac persuasively reveals the power of the almanac to give mathematics a human face.’ Marcus du Sautoy ‘Wardhaugh's book should be readily available and kept with your personal reference books. It should also be in your school library.’ Donald Cook, Mathematical Review

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE''A masterpiece of biography ... a vivid account of a family at the heart of some of the great cultural shifts of the modern era'' John Gray, New Statesman''The whole of British intellectual life seems accessible through some branch of this sprawling family tree'' The GuardianIn his early twenties, poor, depressed, stranded in the Coral Sea on the seemingly endless survey mission of HMS Rattlesnake, hopelessly in love with the young Englishwoman Henrietta Heathorn, Thomas Henry Huxley was a nobody. And yet together he and Henrietta would return to London and go on to found one of the great intellectual and scientific dynasties of their age.The Huxley family through four generations profoundly shaped how we all see ourselves, as individuals and as a species, one among many. They worked as scientists, novelists, mystics, film-makers, poets and - perhaps above all - as pubTrade ReviewA vivid account of a family at the heart of some of the great cultural shifts of the modern era ... a masterpiece of biography. -- John Gray * New Statesman *An intellectual history of Britain through the radical shifts in science and society that gave birth to modernity ... The whole of British intellectual life seems accessible through some branch of this sprawling family tree. -- Stephen Buranyi * The Guardian *Balancing scholarly rigour with an eye for the absurd, her book reveals the human drama behind scientific fact. * The Economist *What a family, what a story, and so cleverly told. Alison Bashford constructs a narrative that intertwines the lives of four generations of Huxleys, boldly forgoing traditional chronology for illuminating synthesis. Absolutely fascinating. -- Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New WorldSuperbly original and evocatively stylish ... Bashford has ingeniously created a loosely chronological account that weaves their own lives and experiences within ever-shifting attitudes towards evolution. -- Patricia Fara * BBC History Magazine *A patient, sympathetic portrait of a family riven with flaws. -- AN Wilson * Spectator *A detailed, nuanced, and superbly written joint biography of the intellectual lineage of the Huxleys ... rich and compelling ... Bashford elegantly reminds us that science has never banished the sacred for the secular, the irrational for the logical. Rather, it creates opportunities for new syntheses, new configurations of life, mind, soul, body, nature, and society. -- Philip Ball * The Lancet *Ambitious, scholarly ... a biography of ideas, using one family's history to explore the development of theories about generations, genealogy and genes, chronicling shifting attitudes to religion, race, women and animal experimentation - from morphology to ethology. -- Annalena McAfee * Financial Times *Lucid, lively and addictive ... a panoramic view of an era of extraordinary and accelerated change ... a celebration of intellectual bravery. -- Morag Fraser * Inside Story *I was captivated from beginning to end by the richness of the detail, the flaws and all personal biographies and most of all blown away by the intimate narrative of how the biggest science stories of the age had a Huxley as ringmaster or provocateur at their heart. -- Tim SmitDaring and joyously intelligent ... It is an astounding achievement that Bashford has transformed such a super-abundance of material into a richly rewarding and comprehensible book. The Huxleys brings the reader into easy familiarity with great minds at work. -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Wall Street Journal *Full of surprises on every page, this book makes you wonder why all history can't have the engaging intimacy of a novel. Bashford brilliantly marries intellectual history with the story of four generations of a great family in a literary tour de force. -- Professor Jim Secord, author of Visions of ScienceOver three generations, the extraordinary Huxley family have changed and reshaped the way we see ourselves. Now Alison Bashford has written a fascinating book that links T H Huxley, the great Victorian scientist with a Caribbean-born wife, to their remarkable grandchildren, Aldous and Julian, in a way that shows how the family struggled with depression and even lunacy while emphasising the crucial role played by the wives, sisters and daughters of these strange and brilliant men. It's a wonderful and important story, one that held me enthralled from start to end. -- Miranda SeymourPacked with insights into the brilliance of three generations of the Huxley family, Bashford's book tells a magnificent story about the huge personalities and shortcomings that propelled evolutionary science and much else besides. Male and female, from Victorian patriarch to zoo director, authors, lovers, and poets: the pages dance with accounts of contemporary literature, psychology, politics, anthropology, religion, and art. -- Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: A Biography and The Quotable DarwinOne of the most compelling and tragic multigenerational scientific legacies ... Bashford tells the story of these intertwined lives with sympathy and candour but also with dexterity. Readers follow the Huxleys as they contemplate nonhuman animals, primates, man, and mind in their intergenerational quest to understand the implications of evolution on what it means, or might mean, to be human." -- Piers J. Hale * Science *Who are we? What is our place in nature? How can we design morality and religion in a world informed by science? Alison Bashford moves across the Huxley generations, tracing how Thomas Henry and his gifted brood struggled to answer these questions, in the process shaping outlooks we hold today. -- Manvir Singh * New Yorker *A scholarly study of T. H. Huxley and his grandson [and a] guide to the history of evolutionary thinking... it's impressive that Bashford can command both these types of writing with equal authority. -- Stefan Collini * London Review of Books *How did a biological theory become such a central part of modern life? ... Bashford traces a cultural phenomenon that has profoundly shaped society and revolutionized our understanding of what it means to be human. -- Stuart Mathieson * Nature *It would be difficult to overstate the debt of gratitude owed to the Huxley dynasty for our knowledge of evolution in all its forms. Bashford narrates the fascinating story of 200 years o modern science and culture through one family history. -- Jules Stewart * Geographical Magazine *Bashford has crafted a masterful biography of Thomas Henry Huxley, patriarch of an evolutionary dynasty, his inheritor and grandson Julian, and the families that sustained them. Interweaving their public contributions to science and private poems, she deftly charts a generational quest to understand and articulate the human condition. -- Erika Lorraine Milam, author of Creatures of CainAlison Bashford's intimate story of the Huxley clan reveals the ambiguities that arise if we apply modern values to past heroes. Here science, society and personalities interact to bring the past alive. -- Peter Bowler, author of Progress Unchained: Ideas of Evolution, Human History and the Future

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Book SynopsisThe story of the Higgs boson - the so-called ''God particle'' - and the man who thought of itIn the summer of 1964, a reclusive young professor at the University of Edinburgh wrote two scientific papers which have come to change our understanding of the most fundamental building blocks of matter and the nature of the universe. Peter Higgs posited the existence an almost infinitely tiny particle - today known as the Higgs boson - which is the key to understanding why particles have mass, and but for which atoms and molecules could not exist.For nearly 50 years afterwards, some of the largest projects in experimental physics sought to demonstrate the physical existence of the boson which Higgs had proposed. Sensationally, confirmation came in July 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva. The following year Higgs was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. One of the least-known giants of science, he is the only person in history to have had a single parTrade Reviewthorough and fascinating ... Close spoke at length to Higgs and the result is a highly detailed and rich narrative ... a piece of scientific history. -- Jay Elwes * Spectator *An illuminating guide to the man and the science behind the Higgs boson ... the tale of the conception and discovery of the Higgs boson, a tiny tremor in an energy field that pervades the whole universe, is one of the most important in modern physics. Without the Higgs there would be no atoms or people or planets or stars or anything except restless particles zipping through space in splendid isolation. Close, a particle physicist who has served as head of communications and public education at Cern, is an excellent guide to the knotty science of that story, as well as what we do know about the mysterious man himself. -- Ananyo Bhattacharya * Guardian *a clear, vivid and occasionally even beautiful portrait of a scientific breakthrough: the tale of how a relatively obscure Scotland-based physicist developed a stunning theory, one that would help illuminate the invisible, particulate web that holds our universe together -- Deborah Blum * New York Times *a five star book - it reaches parts other books on the Higgs have failed to reach and Frank Close does a brilliant job -- Brian Clegg * Popular Science *A fascinating biography of an elusive particle and the equally elusive man who predicted its existence half a century before it was found. If the Higgs boson is the God particle then I feel I have glimpsed the mind of its creator. -- Jim Al-KhaliliClose tells the intertwined stories of Higgs's life and the discovery of the Higgs boson with the aid of a deep understanding of the physics involved and the benefit of many meetings with Higgs himself. There have been other books on the same theme, but this is far and away the best. Where Close excels is in explaining the fundamental principles of particle physics in language anyone likely to pick up this book will understand. ... Elusive works as a biography of Peter Higgs, as an account of one of the greatest intellectual advances in human history and, best of all, as an answer to anyone who asks why we should bother to carry out experiments like those performed at CERN. Buy it. -- John Gribbin * Literary Review *Close is among today's best writers on the history of quantum mechanics -- EconomistParticular brilliance ... This accessible account tells the story of the quest, and of the man who made it possible * BBC History Magazine *reveals the sheer complexity, detail and dazzling precision that, for the scientist, constitutes 'beauty in nature'. Close maintains a strong narrative line - we are watching and waiting throughout for the Higgs boson to be identified. -- Sue Roe * Mail on Sunday *A perfect marriage of subject and writer. With verve, insight, and rigor, Frank Close beautifully illuminates the life and times of one of physics' great, unheralded giants. Elusive is a triumph of a book, and one worthy of its subject's extraordinary contributions. -- bestselling author of The Founders * Jimmy Soni *Elusive is both a deep, exciting intellectual history and an elegantly told portrait of a quiet man whose 'one great idea' changed modern physics forever. Close marries the exotic details of contemporary particle physics theory with the very human aspects of how that theory came to be. An enlightening read from one of our very best writers and practitioners of physics. -- author of The Last Man Who Knew Everything * David N. Schwartz *Rich, compelling, and surprising. Fundamental physics can be equal parts awe-inspiring and head-spinning, and Close masterfully captures those qualities in this deeply satisfying tale of Peter Higgs's convoluted, and very human, journey through life and science. -- author of The Ascent of Information * Caleb Scharf *beautifully, engagingly written ... I was reassured by the characteristic wisdom and honesty of Close's judgement that, while the discovery of the Higgs particle completes the Standard Model of the atom, "Internal completeness is a mathematical requirement, whereas describing the world around us is the demand of natural philosophy". That sentence alone makes Elusive my book of the year. -- Raymond Tallis * Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year *Frank Close is probably the perfect person to tell the tale of Higgs and his boson. A serious physicist himself, he is also an exceptional author - and, unlike with most authors, his subject actually occasionally speaks to him. -- Tom Whipple * Times Books of the Year *the first full biography of Higgs ... focuses just as much on Higgs the particle as he does on Higgs the scientist, and the physics concepts he explores can be daunting. But this excellent book is well worth the effort. -- Mike Perricone * Symmetry Books of the Year *A compelling account of the long search for the Higgs boson -- Books of the Year * Economist *Because there would be no atoms or molecules without the intervention of the Higgs field, our very existence is a consequence of its reality ... a compulsive read. Besides explaining the physics and exploring the many personalities involved, it also conveys the excitement of physics research, the missed opportunities, the happy coincidences, the false trails, the social networks, the collaborations and professional rivalries. Like an established scientific fact that will stand for all time, this book is a definitive account of an historic scientific achievement. -- Rick Marshall * Physics Education *

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Book SynopsisDeeply researched and briskly written, this first-ever biography of Eliza Scidmore, the pioneering journalist who fought to bring Japanese cherry trees to Washington, DC draws heavily on her own writings to follow major events of a half-century as seen through the eyes of a remarkable woman who was far ahead of her time.Trade ReviewParsell has brilliantly rescued Eliza Scidmore, a celebrity journalist and travel writer, from obscurity. Her family background and character are intriguing, and the biography is packed with cultural and historical detail that positions Scidmore as a professional with friends in the highest positions in many fields, both in the United States and the Far East. In addition to the long and complicated saga of her role in securing Japanese cherry trees for Washington D. C., she is especially esteemed for her books about Alaska and Japan, and her instrumental work for National Geographic magazine. * Susan Schoenbauer Thurin, author of Victorian Travelers and the Opening of China 1842-1907 *Diana Parsell's meticulous biography of the important, intrepid though still sadly under-researched and insufficiently known Eliza Scidmore, will be an invaluable resource for travel writing scholars and students. The interweaving of the author's own biography with Scidmore's history makes for a wonderful connecting of two women writers' stories more than a century apart. * Julia Kuehn, The University of Hong Kong *Parsell writes in a clear and lively style and makes thorough use of primary sources, effectively blending narrative drive with evocative detail. * Michelle McClellan, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan *A riveting read, this comprehensive biography of Eliza Scidmore is full of surprises, demonstrating a legacy that extends far beyond her role in bringing the now-iconic cherry blossoms to Washington, D.C. Through prodigious research and vivid writing, Diana Parsell brings to life the dynamic period from America's Gilded Age into the 1920s, when Scidmore was an eyewitness to major world events. I highly recommend this book. * Ann McClellan, author of Cherry Blossoms and The Cherry Blossom Festival: Sakura Celebration *One part writer, one part adventurer, one part cultural ambassador, and 100% tenacious-and at a time when women were supposed to linger in the shadows-Eliza Scidmore literally changed the landscape of the nation's capital. In this terrific biography, Diana Parsell's obsessive quest to piece together Scidmore's extraordinary life moves this forgotten journalist from footnote to center stage. * Lisa Napoli, author of Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR *Table of ContentsPrologue: A Grave in Yokohama Part One: Foundations 1: Child of the Frontier 2: A Fresh Start 3: World's Fair 4:

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Book SynopsisAmy Vedder is a wildlife biologist, a scientist who studies animals and their behavior. She uses her knowledge to save animals whose lives and habitats are threatened. This book presents the story of this young nature lover who became a powerful champion of great apes.Table of Contents1 Sample Chapter 1: Close Encounter

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Book SynopsisAdriana Ocampo grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, dreaming about exploring planets. She never doubted that all her dreams would come true someday. How did Adriana land a job with NASA while still in her teens? How did a robot parked on Mars make her fall in love with rocks - and instantly decide to become a planetary geologist?Table of Contents1 Sample Chapter 1: Los Suenos (Dreams)

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Book SynopsisCynthia Breazeal is a roboticist, a scientist who designs, builds, and experiments with robots. Armed with electronic gadgets, software programs, and her imagination, she creates lifelike machines that can respond to the world around them. This book presents the story of this curious girl who went on to become a world-class roboticist.Table of Contents1 Sample Chapter 1: Visiting An Old Friend

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Book SynopsisElon Musk is an inspirational role model for young entrepreneurs, breaking boundaries and revolutionising the tech-world. He is also the real-life inspiration for the Iron Man series of films, starring Robert Downey Junior. From his humble beginnings in apartheid South Africa, he showed himself to be an exceptionally bright child, and overcame brutal bullying to become the world's most exciting entrepreneur, founding PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla and Solar City.He has emerged as something of a superhero-like figure for today's generation of children. He's not only seen as an entrepreneur in the spirit of a Steve Jobs but as an inventor and bold thinker. He's the guy offering children the possibility of a brighter, more exciting future and has come to symbolize innovation and optimism.

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Book SynopsisSecond edition of a biographical approach to Schauberger, uncovering his remarkable ideas and inventions through his life and experiences.Trade Review'Readers unfamiliar with Schauberger will find this an excellent place to start… As one who is convinced that our attitude to nature must undergo a complete revolution, I regard the work of Schauberger as essential reading.'-- Scientific Medical Network Review'The life and thinkings of the visionary natural scientist explained in fascinating detail.'--BBC Gardens Illustrated'Illuminating and accessible'--Resurgence

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Book SynopsisJon Balchin graduated with honours from the University of London in 1997. He then worked for ExxonMobil before becoming a full-time writer. He lives near London in the UK.

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Book SynopsisDROPOUT. PACIFIST. PHYSICIST. CASANOVA. REFUGEE. REBEL. GENIUS.THINK YOU KNOW EINSTEIN? THINK AGAINHis face is instantly recognisable. His name is shorthand for genius. Today, he's a figurehead as much as a man, symbolic of things larger than himself: of scientific progress, of the human mind, even of the age. But who was Einstein really?The Nobel Prize-winning physicist who discovered relativity, black holes and E = mc2, dined with Charlie Chaplin in Hollywood and was the inspiration for (highly radioactive) element 99, Albert Einstein was also a high school dropout with an FBI file 1,400 pages long.In this book, Samuel Graydon brings history's most famous scientist back to life. From his lost daughter to escaping the Nazis, from his love letters to unlikely inventions, from telling jokes to cheer up his sad parrot Bibo to refusing the Presidency of Israel, through the discoveries and thought experiments that changed science, Einstein in Time and Space tells 99 unforgettable stories of the man who redefined how we view our universe and our place within it.Trade ReviewIlluminating * Nature *A mosaic biography of an exceptional scientist . . . [pieced together] with illuminating skill, style, candour and charm * TLS *For all the thousands of biographies previously written of him, I think Graydon has done a fine and often fascinating job here, and anyone with an interest in science and scientists will absolutely lap this up * Mail on Sunday *A masterful biography and a hugely entertaining read * i Paper *An intriguing, mosaic-like portrait of the great physicist * Literary Review *A great biography. Einstein is not treated as an unknowable genius, but as a flawed individual with interesting stories . . . an incredibly enjoyable read * Sky At Night *A fresh take . . . compelling and beautifully written. Enhances our understanding of both a great scientist and an exemplary humanist * Wall Street Journal *An immensely readable work about the man himself, collected into 99 short, mostly two-page, chapters, exploring his scientific ideas, quoting his letters, and telling many revealing anecdotes. * Church Times *Gems about this icon of modern physics continue to be written because he is such a rich subject, with more original sources referring to him becoming public every year. Still, it does take a new angle on Einstein to get publishers and reviewers excited. Samuel Graydon has achieved just that. * Physics World *A mosaic biography of an exceptional scientist . . . [pieced together] with illuminating skill, style, candour and charm -- Andrew Robinson, author of EINSTEIN: A HUNDRED YEARS OF RELATIVITY * TLS *For all the thousands of biographies previously written of him, I think Graydon has done a fine and often fascinating job here, and anyone with an interest in science and scientists will absolutely lap this up. * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisA hair-raising account about the ins and outs of practising forensic pathology in AfricaAs a medical detective of the modern world, forensic pathologist Ryan Blumenthal's chief goal is to bring perpetrators to justice. He has performed thousands of autopsies, which have helped bring numerous criminals to book.In Autopsy he covers the hard lessons learnt as a rookie pathologist, as well as some of the most unusual cases he's encountered. During his career, for example, he has dealt with high-profile deaths, mass disasters, death by lightning and people killed by African wildlife. Blumenthal takes the reader behind the scenes at the mortuary, describing a typical autopsy and the instruments of the trade. He also shares a few trade secrets, like how to establish when a suicide is more likely to be a homicide. Even though they cannot speak, the dead have a lot to say - and Blumenthal is there to listen.

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Book SynopsisIn 1963 Stephen Hawking was given two years to live. Defying all the odds, he died in March 2018 at age seventy-six as the most celebrated scientist in the world. This carefully researched and updated biography and tribute gives a rich picture of Hawking's remarkable life - his childhood, the heart-rending beginning of his struggle with motor neurone disease, his ever-increasing international fame, and his long personal battle for survival in pursuit of a scientific understanding of the universe. From more recent years, Kitty Ferguson describes his inspiring leadership at the London Paralympic Games, the release of the film The Theory of Everything, his continuing work on black holes and the origin of the universe, the discovery of 'supertranslations', and the astounding 'Starshot' program. Here also are his intense concern for the future of the Earth and his use of his celebrity to fight for environmental and humanitarian causes, and, finally, a ground-breaking paper he was working on at the time of his death, in which he took issue with some of his own earlier theories. Throughout, Ferguson summarizes and explains the cutting-edge science in which Hawking was engaged and offers vivid first-hand descriptions of his funeral in Cambridge and the interment of his ashes in Westminster Abbey. This is an amazing and revealing tribute, assessing Hawking's legacy in and out of science.

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Book Synopsis'Kate Winkler Dawson is an unbelievable crime historian and such a talented storyteller.' Karen Kilgariff, cohost of the My Favorite Murder podcast'Heinrich changed criminal investigations forever, and anyone fascinated by the myriad detective series and TV shows about forensics will want to read [this].' The Washington Post'An entertaining, absorbing combination of biography and true crime.' Kirkus'Kate Winkler Dawson has researched both her subject and his cases so meticulously that her reconstructions and descriptions made me feel part of the action rather than just a reader and bystander. She has brought to life Edward Oscar Heinrich's character, determination, and skill so vividly that one is left bemused that this man is so little known to most of us.' Patricia Wiltshire, author of Traces and The Nature of Life and DeathBerkeley, California, 1933. In a lab filled with curiosities - beakers, microscopes, Bunsen burners and hundreds of books - sat an investigator who would go on to crack at least 2,000 cases in his 40-year career.Known as the 'American Sherlock Holmes', Edward Oscar Heinrich was one of the greatest - and first - forensic scientists, with an uncanny knack for finding clues, establishing evidence and deducing answers with a skill that seemed almost supernatural.Based on years of research and thousands of never-before-published primary source materials, American Sherlock is a true-crime account capturing the life of the man who spearheaded the invention of a myriad of new forensic tools, including blood-spatter analysis, ballistics, lie-detector tests and the use of fingerprints as courtroom evidence.Trade ReviewKate Winkler Dawson is an unbelievable crime historian and such a talented storyteller.' * Karen Kilgariff, cohost of the My Favorite Murder podcast *'Heinrich changed criminal investigations forever, and anyone fascinated by the myriad detective series and TV shows about forensics will want to read [this].' * The Washington Post *Kate Winkler Dawson has researched both her subject and his cases so meticulously that her reconstructions and descriptions made me feel part of the action rather than just a reader and bystander. She has brought to life Edward Oscar Heinrich's character, determination, and skill so vividly that one is left bemused that this man is so little known to most of us.' * Patricia Wiltshire, author of Traces and The Nature of Life and Death *'An entertaining, absorbing combination of biography and true crime.' * Kirkus *American Sherlock will take you on a journey to the origins of crime scene investigation by exploring the obsessive, troubled, brilliant mind of Oscar Heinrich, the nation's first true medical detective, an accomplished polymath who understood, far ahead of his time, that applied forensic science was the key to unlocking criminal mysteries. Kate Dawson offers a riveting, real, and sometimes-unsettling account of Heinrich's life and legacy in this thoroughly-researched and unblinking biography that will at times make you shake your head at the ways that true crime is stranger than fiction.' * Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell, authors of Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner *Part institutional history, part true crime account, and part dramatic tale of brilliant minds and clashing personalities, American Sherlock promises to be just as gripping as her first.' * CrimeReads *Those interested in the development of modern forensics will be enthralled' * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisDan Lyons was Technology Editor at Newsweek Magazine for years, a magazine writer at the top of his profession. One Friday morning he received a phone call: his job no longer existed. Fifty years old and with a wife and two young kids, Dan was unemployed and facing financial oblivion. Then an idea hit. Dan had long reported on Silicon Valley and the tech explosion. Why not join it? HubSpot, a Boston start-up, was flush with $100 million in venture capital. They offered Dan a pile of stock options for the nebulous role of "marketing fellow." What could possibly go wrong? What follows is a hilarious and excoriating account of Dan's time at the start-up and a revealing window onto the dysfunctional culture that prevails in a world flush with cash and devoid of experience. Filled with stories of meaningless jargon, teddy bears at meetings, push-up competitions and all-night parties, this uproarious tale is also a trenchant analysis of the dysfunctional start-up world, a de facto conspiracy between those who start companies and those who fund them. It is a world where bad ideas are rewarded with hefty investments, where companies blow money lavishing perks on their post-collegiate workforces, and where everybody is trying to hang on just long enough to cash out with a fortune.Trade ReviewLyons finds the right company, if only for the raw material that he, a seasoned satirist, spins into gold... But the book is not just a chronicle of the tech bubble's silly quirks... Lyons uses the lens of his growing disillusionment to focus on a broader critique of Silicon Valley. * Financial Times *'Simultaneously hilarious and terrifying' * LA Times *Wildly entertaining... Disrupted explores the ways in which many technology companies have come to fool the public and themselves. Lyons has injected a dose of sanity into a world gone mad. -- Ashlee Vance, Sunday Times bestselling author of Elon Musk'Laugh-out-loud funny.' * Newsweek *Fun, compulsively readable and just might tell us something important about the hypocrisy and cult-like fervor inside today's technology giants. -- Brad Stone, Author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of AmazonScathingly funny . . . Like the show Silicon Valley, Disrupted nails the workings of spastic, hypocritical, delusional tech culture. * New York Post *'A hugely entertaining insider view of the vainglorious world of tech, yet it is also an important rumination on the values of our age.' * Irish Times *'This humorous and well-crafted memoir is part of a proud literary tradition: the disgruntled ex-employee tell-all.' * Harvard Business Review *Dan Lyons goes deep inside a company that uses terms like 'world class marketing thought leaders' to show us how ridiculous, wasteful, and infantile tech start-ups like this can be. And best of all, Lyons does this with his trademark pejorative and hilarious tone. -- Author of Hatching Twitter

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Book SynopsisWhen the world stopped, all hopes rested on finding a vaccine. An unlikely team answered the call. Before Covid-19 was even given its name, a select group of scientists in Germany, assembled by married couple and decades-long research partners Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, began building 20 potential vaccines.As the deadly disease spread from country to country, what followed was a desperate race against time to conduct rigorous tests and clinical trials, whilst navigating political interference and seeking the support of the pharmaceutical industry.Shedding a light on the science behind the breakthrough, The Vaccine tells the story of the trailblazers who led the fightback against Covid-19, whose discoveries could now help the world tackle cancer, along with many other pervasive diseases. It draws back the curtain on one of the most important medical achievements of our age, containing contributions from the fascinating couple themselves, as well as more than 60 scientists, politicians, public health officials, and BioNTech staff.More suspenseful than a novel, this is a real-life story of an extraordinary race against time to save the world.Trade Review'I have now read the book by Joe Miller about the development of the vaccine at Biontech. Uğur Şahin had already understood the dimension of the pandemic on 24 January. I wasn't that quick' -- Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany'Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin are rapidly becoming the most celebrated marriage in science since Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radioactivity' * The Times *'They are the symbol of a remarkable scientific and business success story' * Financial Times (FT People of the Year) *'The story of their quest to use a novel scientific method to defeat that disease, as well as cancer and others, would suffice to make them heroes of our time' * Bloomberg *

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Book SynopsisThe Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (170144) was arguably the world's first true Earth scientist. In Celsius: A Life and Death by Degrees, Ian Hembrow reveals what his extraordinary, but tragically short, life and career can teach us about our today and humanity's tomorrow.Our modern understanding of many of the Earth's most awe-inspiring phenomena owes much to a modest and quietly spoken, eighteenth-century Swedish astronomer, who died of tuberculosis aged just 42. From the Northern Lights, air pressure and magnetism to the shape of the planet, sea levels and early studies of climate change, Celsius unravelled some of the greatest mysteries of his time.Best known for inventing the 100-point centi-grade' scale, Celsius' name also now frames humanity's future in the international targets to limit average global temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. As our world faces this life-or-death struggle, there's much we can learn from Celsius if we will listen.

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Book SynopsisMuch is known about the achievements of George Stephenson and of his infamous creation, the Rocket, yet little is known of the man himself.

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Book SynopsisThe true story of the little-known mental-health pioneer who revolutionised how we see the defining problem of our era: anxiety. Panic, depression, sorrow, guilt, disgrace, obsession, sleeplessness, low confidence, loneliness, agoraphobia … Dr Claire Weekes knew how to treat them, but was dismissed as underqualified and overly populist by the psychiatric establishment. In a radical move, she had gone directly to the people. Her international bestseller Self Help for Your Nerves, first published in 1962 and still in print, helped tens of millions of people to overcome all of these, and continues to do so. Weekes pioneered an anxiety treatment that is now at the cutting edge of modern psychotherapies. Her early explanation of fear, and its effect on the nervous system, is state of the art. Psychologists use her method, neuroscientists study the interaction between different fear circuits in the brain, and many psychiatrists are revisiting the mind–body connection that was the hallmark of her unique work. Face, accept, float, let time pass: hers was the invisible hand that rewrote the therapeutic manual. This understanding of the biology of fear could not be more contemporary — ‘acceptance’ is the treatment du jour, and all mental-health professionals explain the phenomenon of fear in the same way she did so many years ago. However, most of them are unaware of the debt they have to a woman whose work has found such a huge public audience. This book is the first to tell that story, and to tell Weekes’ own remarkable tale, of how a mistaken diagnosis of tuberculosis led to heart palpitations, beginning her fascinating journey to a practical treatment for anxiety that put power back in the hands of the individual.Trade Review‘Judith Hoare delves deep into the life of the visionary doctor and shows that it was by learning to deal with her own crippling anxiety that she could assist with others.’ -- John Meagher * Irish Independent *‘By thinking outside the box, and exercising extraordinary clinical sensitivity, the brilliant physician Claire Weekes created a treatment protocol to the unending benefit of tens of millions of patients over the years.’ -- Dr David Barlow, professor emeritus of psychology and psychiatry at Boston University‘It’s truly astonishing that Dr Claire Weekes is not a household name … this book shines a light on her considerable achievements with great respect and meticulous detail.’ * Leigh Sales *‘This well-documented book is a superb look at how an Australian woman made such a difference to many … The author has done her job magnificently.’ * NB Magazine *‘Australian doctor Claire Weekes found worldwide fame with her bestselling books on ‘nervous illness’ in the 1960s and 1970s — but despite gratitude from thousands of sufferers, she is almost forgotten today. This revelatory biography should change that … Journalist Judith Hoare has comprehensively captured the unconventional life of this brilliant woman who was lauded for her evolutionary studies.’ FOUR STARS -- Julia Taylor * Books + Publishing *‘A vivid portrait of an intriguing woman ahead of her time, this is a story of hope, empowerment, and vindication.’ -- Gina Perry, author of Behind the Shock Machine and The Lost Boys‘With Judith Hoare’s The Woman Who Cracked the Anxiety Code, we have a chance to learn about Weekes’s varied life and, as important, become reacquainted with her work … A splendid tribute to Claire Weekes — a tribute long overdue.’ -- Sally Satel * Wall Street Journal *‘An intimate portrait ... Contributions of this kind — high in influence but low in prestige, because “popular” — are often overlooked. In this fine book, Hoare has rescued the legacy of a great Australian from that fate.’ -- Nick Haslam * Inside Story *‘A fascinating tale about a trailblazer who helped millions face their fears.’ -- Fiona Capp * Sydney Morning Herald *‘Hoare charts Dr Weekes’ professional achievements, which happened almost in spite of her lack of business acumen and a difficult private life.’ FOUR STARS -- Robyn Douglass * SA Weekend *‘Don’t miss this biography, especially if you have been helped, as I was, by this wonderful woman. It is very detailed but well worth a read.’ FOUR STARS -- Merle Morcom * Good Reading *‘Don’t miss this biography, especially if you have been helped, as I was, by this wonderful woman. It is very detailed but well worth a read.’ FOUR STARS -- Merle Morcom * Good Reading *‘In her biography of Weekes, veteran journalist Judith Hoare has rescued the Australian doctor from obscurity and placed her squarely in the history of the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders … Displaying the hallmarks of an accomplished journalist, this is a fascinating biography of a free-spirited and innovative woman, an insight into the history of evolutionary and psychiatric theories, and an introduction to Weekes’s methods and her books.’ -- Carol Middleton * Australian Book Review *‘Journalist Hoare chronicles Weekes's life, from an early career in zoology to an attempt at singing professionally to becoming a doctor at age 42 … This biography restores Weekes's often overlooked contributions to anxiety treatment.’ -- Andrea Thompson * Scientific American ‘Recommended Books’ *

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Book SynopsisA multi-award-winning Italian debut, from a bold and original new voice in contemporary queer literature. Jonathan is 31 years old, living in Milan with his boyfriend of three years and their two Devon Rex cats when, on a day like any other, he gets a fever. But unlike most, this fever doesn’t go away; it’s constant, low-level, and exhausting. After spending weeks Googling his symptoms and documenting his illness, he finally sees a doctor. A series of blood tests, anxious visits to hospitals, and repeated misdiagnoses ensue, until the truth is finally revealed: Jonathan is HIV-positive. As Jonathan comes to terms with what this diagnosis will mean for him, his future, and his relationships, he also takes the reader back in time, in search of his history, to the suburbs where he grew up, and from which he feels he has escaped: Rozzano, the ghetto of Milan, and of Italy’s north. In the vein of Édouard Louis and Virginie Despentes, Fever is at once a deeply personal story and a searing examination of class, poverty, prejudice, and opportunity in modern Europe.Trade Review‘Jagged and tender, forthright and sly, this book felt so committed to its fierce, wise vision of the joys and terrors of having a body and living a life. It tells us real things, in a rich voice, with force and passion and insight. I couldn’t put it down.’ -- Ronnie Scott, author of The Adversary‘I couldn’t put it down. Jonathan Bazzi’s writing is immensely powerful.’ -- Tomasz Jedrowski, author of Swimming in the Dark‘Jonathan Bazzi’s Fever promises to shed light on something quite specific, but ends up illuminating infinitely more. Here, in direct and unapologetic prose, brilliantly translated by Alice Whitmore, we are immersed in one man’s inner battle to assimilate an HIV diagnosis, yet we are never allowed to lose sight of the wider circumstances that give this battle its distinct emotional configuration: a deprived upbringing, an ill-equipped mother, a neo-fascist father, a suburban wasteland filled with wounded personalities, a precarious livelihood in a modern city, a treacherous online environment, a traumatised queer community, a politically dysfunctional nation. Shifting between anger and rebellion, on the one hand, and tenderness and forgiveness, on the other, Fever grips us first, then terrifies us, then moves us, then urges us, finally, to consider the question, ‘Who gets to be well, and why, and how?’ -- Gavin McCrea, author of Cells‘Every generation, we need new voices to tell us our story. In this harsh, lyrical, and supremely confident memoir, Jonathan Bazzi takes us on a personal journey from violence and disadvantage to the sweet power of queer self-discovery. The writing is terrific — and this is a journey we can all learn from.’ -- Neil Bartlett, author of Ready To Catch Him Should He Fall and Address Book‘Alternating between powerful recollections of Bazzi’s early life in suburban Milan and meditations on their HIV diagnosis, Fever is a stark and searing account of class, crisis, and contemporary queer life; a portrait of what the body weathers and what it remembers.’ -- Jack Parlett, author of Fire Island‘Bazzi captures the longing, the wounds, and the joys of growing up queer and working class in 1980s Milan — and what it means to recalibrate your world amid the aftershocks of a life-changing diagnosis. I read it in a single sitting.’ -- Jennifer Down, author of Bodies of Light

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Seminary Co-Op Notable Book of the Year""If categorization is crucial to making sense of the world, how should we classify Carl Linnaeus? . . . Broberg’s biography dutifully accompanies Linnaeus every step of the way."---Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker"Whether we realize it or not, we live in a Linnaean world. . . . [A]n excellent starting point for the general reader. Dispensing with the prevalent image of Linnaeus as nature’s dullest bookkeeper, Broberg paints a moving portrait of a profoundly vulnerable human being."---Christopher Irmscher, Wall Street Journal"A detailed account of his subject’s work as well as his 'darker aspects.' . . . Writing for a general audience. . . . Everything you ever wanted to know about Linnaeus and more." * Kirkus Reviews *"A rich portrait. . . . [Broberg] offers readers an immersive glimpse into the life of a scientist who was instrumental to the formation of botany, zoology, and taxonomy. . . . The Man Who Organized Nature is sure to become the definitive biography of Linnaeus."---Darren Incorvaia, Science"A striking addition to the list of key scientific biographies."---Brian Clegg, Popular Science"A reminder of the remarkable life Linnaeus lead and the influence he had on the development of modern biology. . . . His work deserves to be remembered in magisterial biographies like this."---Laurence A. Marshall, Natural History"Anna Paterson’s new English translation of the late Gunnar Broberg’s 2019 life of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus offers, however, something genuinely new and valuable . . . The book is a beguiling and expert account of an extraordinary individual who helped shape our understanding of the natural world."---Linda Colley, Financial Times"This is surely the definitive biography of Carl Linnaeus. . . .The book gives a rounded and vivid portrait highlighting his flaws as well as creative genius." * Paradigm Explorer *"We should be grateful to Broberg for the decades of research distilled into the volume, the closest thing to a comprehensive and contextualised account of Linnaeus as we are likely to get for at least a generation."---Lorraine Daston, London Review of Books

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Book SynopsisA Sunday Times Book of The YearA Mail on Sunday Book of The YearAn Independent Book of The YearA The Times Book of The YearDuring the US book tour for his memoir, Hitch-22, Christopher Hitchens collapsed in his New York hotel room to excoriating pain in his chest and thorax. As he would later write in the first of a series of deeply moving Vanity Fair pieces, he was being deported 'from the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady.' Over the next year he underwent the brutal gamut of modern cancer treatment, enduring catastrophic levels of suffering and eventually losing the ability to speak. Mortality is the most meditative collection of writing Hitchens has ever produced; at once an unsparingly honest account of the ravages of his disease, an examination of cancer etiquette, and the coda to a lifetime of fierce debate and peerless prose. In this eloquent confrontation with mortality, Hitchens returns a human face to a disease that has become a contemporary cipher of suffering.Trade ReviewCharacteristic of his elegant wit: philosophical, literary, ironic, sardonic, reflective and resentful * The Times *His unworldly fluency never deserted him, his commitment was passionate, and he never deserted his trade. He was the consummate writer, the brilliant friend. In Walter Pater's famous phrase, he burned 'with this hard gem-like flame.' Right to the end. -- Ian McEwanHitchens's voice remains civilised, searching and ready to vanquish all his enemies -- Colm TóbínA trenchant, learned, iconoclastic and splendidly witty commentator on public life and, as here, on his own private triumphs and travails... unremittingly elegant, a master of graceful prose -- John Banville

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Book SynopsisREBEL GIRLS is a global, multi-platform empowerment brand dedicated to helping raise the most inspired and confident generation of girls through content, experiences, products, and community. Originating from an international best-selling children's book, Rebel Girls amplifies stories of real-life women throughout history, geography, and field of excellence. With a growing community of nearly 20 million self-identified Rebel Girls spanning more than 100 countries, the brand engages with Generation Alpha through its book series, award-winning podcast, events, and merchandise. With the 2021 launch of the Rebel Girls app, the company has created a flagship destination for girls to explore a wondrous world filled with inspiring true stories of extraordinary women.

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Book SynopsisThe story of a working class boy from Leicestershire who started out restoring cars with his father and went on to produce a low volume car that would shake the establishment: the Noble M12.

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Book SynopsisThe remarkable story of a boy raised in the Scottish Highlands who travelled the world, survived epic naval battles, advanced natural and medical science and fulfilled his wildest dreams of adventure and discovery

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Book SynopsisBook of the Year in The Economist, Guardian, New Statesman, Wall Street Journal and New York Times.Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize, the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography and the British Society for the History of Science Hughes Prize.'A wonderful book about one of the most important, brilliant and flawed scientists of the 20th century.' Peter Frankopan'Superb' Matt Ridley, The Times'Fascinating... The best Haldane biography yet.' New York TimesJ.B.S. Haldane's life was rich and strange, never short on genius, never lacking for drama. He is best remembered as a geneticist who revolutionized our understanding of evolution, but his peers thought him a polymath; one student called him 'the last man who knew all there was to be known'.Beginning in the 1930s, Haldane was also a staunch Communist - a stance that enhanced his public profile, led him into trouble, and even drew suspicions that he was spying for the Soviets. He wrote copiously on science and politics for the layman, in newspapers and magazines, and he gave speeches in town halls and on the radio, all of which made him, in his day, as famous in Britain as Einstein. Arthur C. Clarke called Haldane 'the most brilliant science popularizer of his generation'. He frequently narrated aspects of his life: of his childhood, as the son of a famous scientist; of his time in the trenches in the First World War and in Spain during the Civil War; of his experiments upon himself; of his secret research for the British Admiralty; of his final move to India, in 1957. A Dominant Character unpacks Haldane's boisterous life in detail, and it examines the questions he raised about the intersections of genetics and politics - questions that resonate all the more strongly today.Trade ReviewDeliciously full of danger, adventure and scandal. * 'Science Books of the Year', Guardian *Superb... Subramanian does a masterly job of summarising a rich and rough life. He uses sharp analogies and arresting images... Haldane deserves a biographer who is eloquent, intelligent, fair, but unsparing and as good at explaining science as politics. Not an easy combination, but he has got one. -- Matt Ridley * The Times *A master biographer brings this original, impulsive and politically misguided figure into sharp focus in this rare account of intellect and temperament in action. * 'Top Ten Books of 2020'. Wall Street Journal *It's hard to recommend a single science book from 2020, but the one I've kept returning to, mentally, is Samanth Subramanian's A Dominant Character... Beautifully written, it's a reminder that no scientist can be extracted from his or her time. * Laura Spinney, 'Books of the Year', New Statesman *Fascinating... The best Haldane biography yet. * New York Times *Samanth Subramanian is a crisp, elegant writer who has produced a compelling biography of this dazzling man. A Dominant Character is perfectly paced... It can be read with the utmost pleasure by everyone who likes to admire a fine intellect in action and to see respect paid to outstanding intelligence. -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Wall Street Journal *A wonderful book about one of the most important, brilliant and flawed scientists of the 20th century - that explains much not only about J.B.S. Haldane but about the complex times he lived in. -- Peter Frankopan, bestselling author of THE SILK ROADSEven if there had been no scientific legacy, the rich and at times outrageous life of J.B.S. Haldane would justify a biography... Intelligent and energetic. * Sunday Times *Sympathetic and astute * The Economist *The 20th century British geneticist J.B.S. Haldane remains one of the most influential scientists of modern times. And this remarkable biography by Samanth Subramanian, which brings to life Haldane at his brilliant, unpredictable, outspoken, visionary best, will make you see exactly why his light still shines so brightly today. -- Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE POISON SQUADA wholly delightful, even brilliant, exploration of the scientific mind. Subramanian brings alive J.B.S. Haldane's rollicking, unbelievable life journey from privileged English childhood to Indian asylum. He writes with grace and confidence about both the science and the man, a "Darwinian preacher" whose life explains why scientists in our age of artificial intelligence and revolutionary genetics need to think politically. A Dominant Character is a captivating story of prickly genius, sexual scandal, and radical politics. -- Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning co-author of AMERICAN PROMETHEUSA marvellous, comprehensive, and entertaining biography of J.B.S. Haldane, who made major contributions to many fields. His biggest impact was on evolutionary biology, as a major founder of the theory of population genetics. Subramanian has done impressive research on Haldane's background, scientific contributions, and political controversies - this will be the definitive work on his life from now on. -- Joe Felsenstein, Professor Emeritus of Genome Sciences and of Biology, University of WashingtonExcellent.... Full of insight and felicitous writing. -- David Brown * American Scholar *If you were looking for a model protagonist for a ripping yarn, you could do a lot worse than John Burdon Sanderson Haldane... A Dominant Character turns on the Lysenko affair, examining how scientists wedded to both their work and their political ideals can be forced to choose between them. * Literary Review *Insightful...This portrait of a brilliant, egotistical contrarian illustrates how science and politics can collide, a subject with ample relevance for the modern world. * Publishers Weekly *A rich biography of a central figure in the 20th-century genetics revolution... Succeeds superbly. * Kirkus Reviews *Captures Haldane's outsize character, productive scientific career, and communist convictions.... Explaining clearly Haldane's science and discerning astutely Haldane's personality, Subramanian delivers a well-judged biography. * Booklist *Attempting to encompass the entirety of the polymath that was J.B.S. Haldane (1892-1964) is no easy task.... Social historians will appreciate the emphasis on the man and his politics, over an emphasis solely on the science, in this excellent biography. * Library Journal *Balanced and modern ... [A Dominant Character] should prove engaging to readers interested in the birth of genetics and in the intersection of science and political belief. * Science *A fascinating portrait of Haldane's life. Subramanian succeeds in capturing his public life, fame, and influence, while giving readers a sense of Haldane as a person and as a groundbreaking scientist. * American Scientist *Table of Contents1: The Scientific Method 2: The Deep End 3: Synthesis 4: Red Haldane 5: The War at Home 6: India 7: Ten Thousand Years

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Book SynopsisThis is the essential fully illustrated biography of Carl Jung - one of the world's most influential thinkers and a founding father of psychology. It offers a unique insight into Jung's life and work, featuring generous excerpts from his writings and letters, and reveals Jung as seen by those who knew him best, including his friend and mentor Freud, his patients, and the two women in his life, Emma Jung and Toni Wolff. The words of Jung himself and those who shared his work and private life are connected by Claire Dunne's lively and accessible commentary. The evocative illustrations include colour reproductions of Jung's paintings and photographs of Jung and his associates, as well as superb artwork by other artists both ancient and contemporary that reflects Jung's teachings. Jung emerges as a healer whose skills arose from having first attended to the wounds in his own soul.Trade Review"Most appealing and complete presentation of Jung to the general reader since Man and His Symbols...would make a popular text book, perfect for the undergraduate."--Dr. John Beebe, President, C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco "Claire Dunn has managed, in this beautiful book, to capture the essential features of Jung's life and its meaning as a solid achievement." --Dr. Murray Stein, Jungian analyst "Excellent, the best [biography of Jung] yet!" --Robert A. Johnson, Jungian analyst and author

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Book SynopsisBestselling author-illustrator Marissa Moss tells the gripping story of Lise Meitner, the physicist who discovered nuclear fissionAs a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like having her name listed on her own research papers. Meitner made groundbreaking strides in the study of radiation, but when Hitler came to power in Germany, she suddenly had to face not only sexism, but also life-threatening anti-Semitism as well. Nevertheless, she persevered and one day made a discovery that rocked the world: the splitting of the atom. While her male lab partner was awarded a Nobel Prize for the achievement, the committee refused to give her any credit. Suddenly, the race to build the atomic bomb was on—although Meitner was horrified to be associated with such a weapon. “A physicist who never lost her humanity,” Meitner wanted only tTrade Review**STARRED REVIEW** "Moss’ approach to this biography is notable in several ways, from the organization of facts into a very readable narrative to surprisingly clear explanations of Meitner’s scientific work and its significance. Even the back matter is uncommonly useful." * Booklist ***STARRED REVIEW** "A scorching profile of a brilliant physicist whose proper re cognition was long delayed thanks to sexism, antisemitism, and personal betrayal. . .A bright tale of a life dedicated to science, well stocked with dramatic moments and discoveries." * Kirkus Reviews ***STARRED REVIEW** "Moss’s engagingly illustrated panels begin each chapter, bolstering the narrative by offering a direct emotional connection to Meitner’s work and thoughts. Short, easily digestible chapters capture a little-known pioneer in her field caught in dangerous times, and address nuclear implications that still resonate today." * Publishers Weekly *A brief comic book style episode introduces each chapter making an effective attention-grabber and a boon to report writers. * The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books *Moss presents a spectacular story of history, science, and women’s struggle for respect through the narrative of Meitner’s life. The writing style is captivating and the book is a quick page-turner. * School Library Journal *Absorbing and well-paced. . .Moss provides readers with comprehensible descriptions of her subject’s scientific work. * The Horn Book Magazine *

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Book SynopsisFrom a long-term planning lead for the Mars Exploration Rover Project comes this vivid insider account of some of NASA's most vital and exciting missions to the Red Planet, illustrated with full-colour photographsa wondrous chronicle of unprecedented scientific discovery and the search for evidence of life on Mars.There are probably just a few of moments in human history when a small group of humans stood on the margins of a vast new world, and it is no stretch of the romantic imagination that the arrival of two rovers on the surface of another planet was surely one of them.'Human exploration of Mars is the most ambitious and exciting scientific goal of the 21st century, and few people on earth know as much about this fascinating planet as Dr Larry Crumpler. As one of the long-term planning leads for the Mars Exploration Rover Project, he helped control the daily communications between NASA and the rovers roaming the planet to gather scientific data.In this magnificent compendium, Dr.

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Book Synopsis''Birkhead has combined ingenuity and perseverance to produce an evocative portrait of a great pioneer in the scientific study of birds'' Literary ReviewFrancis Willughby lived and thrived in the midst of the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. Along with his Cambridge tutor John Ray, Willughby was determined to overhaul the whole of natural history and impose order on its complexity. It was exhilarating, exacting and exhausting work. Yet before Willughby and Ray could complete their monumental encyclopaedia of birds, Ornithology, Willughby died. In the centuries since, Ray's reputation has grown, obscuring that of his collaborator. Now, for the first time, Willughby's own story and genius are given the attention they deserve. Tim Birkhead celebrates how Willughby's endeavours set a standard for the way birds and natural history should be studied. Rich with glorious detail, The Wonderful Mr Willughby is a fascinating insight into a thrilling peTrade ReviewIn this engrossing biography of "the first true ornithologist", Birkhead takes us on imaginative journey to the time of Charles II, when there was no classification of animals, birds and plants; when men such as Willughby often endured great hardship in order to make ground-breaking discoveries -- Bel Mooney * Daily Mail *Energetically pursuing his quarry, Birkhead has combined ingenuity and perseverance to produce an evocative portrait of a great pioneer in the scientific study of birds -- Patricia Fara * Literary Review *Brilliantly researched – a vivid celebration of a neglected pioneer of scientific natural history -- Nick Davies, author of 'Cuckoo'A joint celebration of two of the great scientific brains of the Age of Reason … [An] engaging study’ * Country Life *[A] precise and rigorously told biography … There’s a quiddity about [Birkhead's] writing that follows in his subject's steps -- Philip Hoare * New Statesman *Fascinating * Big Issue *Francis Willughby is an ideal subject for a biography … An entertaining and informative book, packed with well-explained scientific detail -- Sam Leith * Spectator *The story of Willughby’s short life, elegantly and engagingly told by Tim Birkhead -- Francis Gooding * London Review of Books *Enthralling ... Tim Birkhead’s careful sleuthing uncovers the remarkable story of an ingenious gentleman-scholar living at the dawn of the scientific revolution -- Matt Ridley, author of 'The Evolution of Everything'If you ever thought the history of natural history might be dull, this wonderful book, a masterpiece of biographical sleuthing, will quickly dispel that illusion … The author’s passion for his subjects, both human and avian, shine through as he brings history to life and relates past to present -- Jonathan Elphick * BBC Wildlife *Magnificent: science without any high falutin' technology -- Praise for 'The Most Perfect Thing', David AttenboroughBrilliant. It's so wonderful when you come across a book on a subject you are not naturally drawn to and you're completely engaged by it -- Praise for 'The Most Perfect Thing', Bill BrysonFull of wonder and surprise and beautifully written -- Praise for 'The Most Perfect Thing', Nick Davies, author of 'Cuckoo'Birkhead’s approach to writing – hard, clear sentences; deep, revelatory looking – has the same effect as his microscope, bringing objects to light that were previously hidden, making us see the familiar with new eyes … After reading The Most Perfect Thing, you’ll never dip your morning soldiers without a shiver of wonder at the complexity and resgourcefulness of the humble egg -- Praise for 'The Most Perfect Thing', Alex Preston * Observer *

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Book SynopsisWhen he was twenty-seven, Henry Molaison underwent surgery for his epilepsy. He awoke with part of his brain destroyed, and for the rest of his life would be trapped in the moment, unable to remember anything for more than a few seconds. For nearly five decades, distinguished neuroscientist Suzanne Corkin studied Molaison and oversaw his care. In Permanent Present Tense she tells his extraordinary story, showing how his amnesia revolutionized our understanding of the brain, and also challenged our very notions of who we are.Trade ReviewFascinating ... rich with implications for our understanding of the brain, our experience and what it means to be human -- Steven Pinker, author of 'How the Mind Works' and 'The Stuff of Thought'The poignant story of a man who became one of history's most studied patients -- John Carey * Sunday Times *In this fine and moving book, Corkin pays tribute to a much-missed friend, as well as offering lucid accounts of the neuropsychological discoveries he made possible -- Jonathan Rée * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisNiels Bohr, who pioneered the quantum theory of the atom, had a broad conception of his obligations as a physicist. They included not only a responsibility for the consequences of his work for the wider society, but also a compulsion to apply the philosophy he deduced from his physics to improving ordinary people''s understanding of the moral universe they inhabit. In some of these concerns Bohr resembled Einstein, although Einstein could not accept what he called the tranquilizing philosophy with which Bohr tried to resolve such ancient conundrums as the nature (or possibility) of free will. In this Very Short Introduction John Heilbron draws on sources never before presented in English to cover the life and work of one of the most creative physicists of the 20th century. In addition to his role as a scientist, Heilbron considers Bohr as a statesman and Danish cultural icon, who built scientific institutions and pushed for the extension of international cooperation in science to all nation states. As a humanist he was concerned with the cultivation of all sides of the individual, and with the complementary contributions of all peoples to the sum of human culture. Throughout, Heilbron considers how all of these aspects of Bohr''s personality influenced his work, as well as the science that made him, in the words of Sir Henry Dale, President of the Royal Society of London, probably the first among all the men of all countries who are now active in any department of science. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewThe book is very successful in providing a comprehensive but short introduction to Bohr's life and thought. * K. Brad Wray, Metascience *Table of ContentsPrologue 1: A richly furnished mind: Viking Jew; Christian philosopher; physicist 2: Productive ambiguity: Revelations of hydrogen; unfinished business 3: Magic wand: instant progress; the Institute, the Bohrfest, and the Nobel Prize; exclusion and energy 4: Enthusiastic resignation: quantum talk; the challenger; complementarity 5: The Institute: mopping up; new directions; outreach 6: Elder statesman: Uncle Nick; historia magistra vitae Appendices General reading Index

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Book SynopsisThe biography of Nikola Tesla, known as the father of modern electricity.Table of ContentsThe World Before Electric Power • Childhood • Further Education • Early Setbacks • Flashes of Light • Working in Europe • The Land of Opportunity • Independent Inventions • Work on X-rays • The Tesla Coil • The Tesla Effect • Home from Home • The War of Currents • Radio and Remote Control • Friends and Enemies • Colorado Springs • 'Teslascopic' Vision • Wardenclyffe Tower • Further Developments • Nobel Nominations • The Mad Scientist • War • The Edison Medal • The Last Patent: VTOL Aircraft • An Ever-Questioning Mind • Unfinished Work • Recognition • Tesla's Legacy.

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Book Synopsis''Compelling'' Christopher Hart, The Sunday Times''A fascinating book'' Daily Mail_______________________________________________________________We think of transplant surgery as one of the medical wonders of the modern world -- but it''s a lot older than you think. As ancient as the pyramids, its history is even more surprising. In Spare Parts, cultural historian Paul Craddock takes us on a fascinating journey and unearths incredible untold stories, from Indian surgeons regrafting lost noses in the sixth century BC, to the seventeenth century architect who helped pioneer blood transfusions, to the French seamstress whose needlework paved the way for kidney transplants in the early 1900s.Expertly weaving together philosophy, science and cultural history, Spare Parts explores how transplant surgery has constantly tested the boundaries between human, animal and machine. It shows us that the history -- and future -- of transplant surgery is tied up with questions not only about who we are, but also what we are, and what we might become._______________________________________________________________''By turns delightful and disturbing . . . A thoroughly engrossing read that I couldn''t put down'' LINDSEY FITZHARRIS, author of The Facemaker and The Butchering Art''Spare Parts is a fascinating read filled with adventure, delight and surprise'' RAHUL JANDIAL, surgeon and author of Life on a Knife''s Edge''This is a joyful romp through a fascinating slice of medical history'' WENDY MOORE, author of The Knife ManTrade ReviewA fascinating book * Daily Mail *Compelling -- Christopher Hart * The Sunday Times *The charm of Spare Parts comes from situating these landmarks in a wider history of ideas * Spectator *A thrilling and often terrifying ride through transplantation and the theories and techniques that made it possible . . . tantalizing -- Robert Sullivan * The New York Times *Anyone interested in the history of surgery will find much to amaze and startle in Paul Craddock's Spare Parts: A Surprising History of Transplants * Independent *Excellent . . . Much has been written about this subject, but with Spare Parts Paul Craddock has achieved something unique: a serious, entertaining and thoroughly researched work that usefully sets the history of transplantation in the context of the evolution of ideas about the human body -- Thomas Morris * TLS *Craddock combines meticulous scholarship with wry wit in lucid prose which is all the more powerful for being understated . . . Spare Parts is a triumph * Roger Kneebone, author of 'Expert' *I read Spare Parts with my mouth open, my eyes popping and my brain fizzing. It's a fascinating exploration of just how far humans will go to stay on the right side of death. I can't think of any other book whose pages will make you laugh, gasp, grimace and wince. Spare Parts is a triumph of medical story-telling * Michael Brooks, author of 'The Quantum Astrologer's Handbook' and 'Science(ish)' *This is a fascinating and sure-footed exploration of the medical, historical and mythological landscape in which humans use parts from each other to make themselves whole. With compassion and insight, Paul Craddock elucidates vital questions about what it means to be human and to realise our dreams of survival * Dr Emily Mayhew, author of 'Wounded' and 'The Four Horsemen' *This is a captivating and absorbing read that surprises on every page whether it be from prosthetic noses of the 16th Century to modern day bio-printing and stem cell technology * Professor Dame Sue Black, author of 'All That Remains' *Paul Craddock's book is a veritable tour de force, a tantalising journey through human efforts in understanding science, medicine, personal beliefs and ourselves over the past centuries . . .Packed with stories which bring to life the personalities, the heroes and villains, and, with benefit of hindsight, the sometime frankly incredulous ideas, we get a unique and inspiring tapestry of events . . . A thoroughly good read * Barry Fuller, Professor of Surgical Sciences at UCL Medical School *This compelling and impeccably researched history of transplant surgery puts you right at the heart of the gruesome action. An enthralling read * Richard Hollingham, author of 'Blood and Guts' *A riveting journey through the story of anatomical alchemy, Spare Parts is a fascinating read filled with adventure, delight and surprise * Rahul Jandial, surgeon and author of 'Life on a Knife’s Edge' *Spare Parts is such a pleasure to read, filled with so many fascinating characters and stories that seem almost too crazy to be real; I found myself chuckling, shaking my head and yet proud to be a part of this field. This is a must read for anyone that has ever been touched by transplantation or the gift of donation, a book that makes us proud of our macabre past and excited about what can only be a limitless future * Josh D Mezrich, author of 'How Death Becomes Life' *Stuffed with eccentric characters and questionable experiments, this is a joyful romp through a fascinating slice of medical history * Wendy Moore, author of 'The Knife Man' *A perfect blend of history, science and humanity on a thrilling journey around old and new parts of the human body * Matt Morgan, author of 'Critical' *Spare Parts uncovers the gripping birth of sharing body parts, and significantly, tells us all of our current 'good ideas and innovations' have been thought of and tested already - we are simply adding to the mix. This visceral book offers us an unparalleled historical treatise, as the world of complex transplantation continues to unravel and change * Daniel Saleh, award-winning consultant plastic and reconstructive surgeon *With curious and clinical precision ... Craddock raises questions about how we relate to one another, what stories we choose to privilege and who gets to tell them * Irish Times *By turns delightful and disturbing, even the most seasoned of medical history buffs will be astonished by Spare Parts. A thoroughly engrossing read that I couldn't put down. Hit that order button -- you won't regret it * Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Butchering Art *An accessible and wide-ranging account . . . Amid the toe-curling descriptions of vivisected dogs and doomed trial runs at human-to-human tooth transplants are hopeful and inspiring accounts of how farmers and embroiderers shared their knowledge with medical practitioners . . . Thoroughly researched and appealingly digressive, this fascinating medical and cultural history sheds light on what it means to be human * Publishers Weekly *

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Book Synopsis A celebration of the life and engineering achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel by two of the world''s foremost authorities.In his lifetime, Isambard Kingdom Brunel towered over his profession. Today, he remains the most famous engineer in history, the epitome of the volcanic creative forces which brought about the Industrial Revolution - and brought modern society into being. Brunel''s extraordinary talents were drawn out by some remarkable opportunities - above all his appointment as engineer to the new Great Western Railway at the age of 26 - but it was his nature to take nothing for granted, and to look at every project, whether it was the longest railway yet planned, or the largest ship ever imagined, from first principles. A hard taskmaster to those who served him, he ultimately sacrificed his own life to his work in his tragically early death at the age of 53. His legacy, though, is all around us, in the railways and bridges that he persona

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Book SynopsisA definitive history of the race to unravel DNA’s structure by one of our most prominent medical historiansTrade Review"A cinematic account of toxic masculinity among 1950s DNA researchers… [Rosalind Franklin] probably would have hated being the heroine of a movie, but we’re fortunate to have books such as this to put her back in the picture." -- Katy Guest - The Guardian"Howard Markel’s wonderfully-written book, The Secret of Life, explores the story of genetics up to the revolutionary mid-20th century decoding of the structure of DNA. And it does so in such brilliant detail that the result is—even for those who might think they know this story—a tale that proves fresh, provocative, startlingly insightful, and addictively fun to read." -- Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Poison Squad: One Chemist’s Single-Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century"The discovery of DNA is one of history’s light switch moments, when the world of science—indeed, humanity—changed forever. Though much has been written on the subject, nothing remotely compares to Howard Markel’s magisterial account. Elegantly written, packed with fresh insights gleaned from a wealth of original sources, The Secret of Life takes us into the minds and laboratories of the leading players, highlighting their brilliance, their ambitions, and their sometimes questionable ethical behavior. This book is the merging of a seminal subject and superb author—one of the leading medical historians of our era. The result is truly remarkable." -- David Oshinsky, Professor of History and Medicine, NYU, and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Polio: An American Story"Howard Markel’s brilliant book examining the discovery of DNA is a ‘must read’ for biologists and historians. But this is also a book for every reader; it brings to life the discovery of life itself. From Watson, Crick, and Franklin, to the dozens of char" -- Siddhartha Mukherjee, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene

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Book Synopsis_______________Starman takes us at breakneck speed through Gagarin''s strange trajectory ... Without books like these to shelter it, history is eroded by propaganda and real heroes fall victim to spin'' - New ScientistA riveting account of Gagarin''s life ... Starman brilliantly captures the atmosphere of the time'' - EuropeanStarman was worth writing and is definitely worth reading'' - Daily Telegraph_______________The definitive biography of Yuri Gagarin, re-published with new material to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of his momentous flight into space.On April 12 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to leave the Earth''s atmosphere and venture into space. An icon of the 20th century, he also became a danger to himself and a threat to the Soviet state. At the age of 34, he was killed in a plane crash. Based on KGB files, restricted documents from Russian spaceTrade Review‘Starman takes us breakneck speed through Gagarin's strange trajectory...Without books like these to shelter it, history is eroded by propaganda and real heroes fall victim to spin' * New Scientist *‘A riveting account of Gagarin's life ... Starman brilliantly captures the atmosphere of the time' * European *‘Starman skilfully achieves two distinct objectives: The uncovering of much of the mystery around one of mankind's finest periods, and a full and respectful acknowledgement that its many great heroes, both sung and unsung, were, first and foremost, human beings' * Moscow Times *‘Starman was worth writing and is definitely worth reading' * Daily Telegraph *

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