History of science Books

Book SynopsisThe tenth anniversary edition of the dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest: the search for the solution of how to calculate longitude and the unlikely triumph of an English genius. With a new Foreword by the celebrated astronaut Neil Armstrong.Sobel has done the impossible and made horology sexy no mean feat' New ScientistAnyone alive in the 18th century would have known that the longitude problem' was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution.The quest for a solution had occupied scientists and their patrons for the better part of two centuries when, in 1714, Parliament upped the ante by offering a king's ransom (20,000) to anyone whose method or device proved successful. Countless quacks weighed in wiTrade ReviewDava Sobel has written a gem of a book…one of the best reads for the non-scientific writing to come along for many a moon." Financial Times "A true life thriller, jam-packed with political intrigue, international warfare, personal feuds and financial skullduggery." Daily Mail "Rarely have I enjoyed a book as much as Dava Sobel's Longitude. She has an extraordinary gift of making difficult ideas clear." Daily Telegraph

Read more less

Book SynopsisWill technology change what it means to be human? You don''t have to be a computer scientist to have discerning conversations about artificial intelligence and technology. We all wonder where we''re headed. Even now, technological innovations and machine learning have a daily impact on our lives, and many of us see good reasons to dread the future. Are we doomed to the surveillance society imagined in George Orwell''s 1984?Mathematician and philosopher John Lennox believes that there are credible answers to the daunting questions that AI poses, and he shows that Christianity has some very serious, sensible, evidence-based responses about the nature of our quest for superintelligence.2084 will introduce you to a kaleidoscope of ideas: The key developments in technological enhancement, bioengineering, and, in particular, artificial intelligence. The agreements and disagreements that scientists and experts have Table of ContentsPreface 1. Two Big Questions: Humanity: Where from and Where to? 2. Narrow Artificial Intelligence---The Future Is Bright? 3. Narrow AI: Perhaps the Future Is Not So Bright After All? 4. Upgrading Humans 5. Artificial General Intelligence---The Future Is Dark? 6. The Genesis Files: What Is a Human Being? 7. The True “Homo Deus” 8. Future Shock: The Return of the Man Who Is God Appendix: Christian Transhumanism?

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA groundbreaking new series from bestselling author Sean CarrollTrade Review‘Neat, and extremely simple: only a deep thinker such as Sean Carroll could introduce the complexity of Einstein’s general relativity in such a luminous and straightforward manner.’ -- Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics‘Sean Carroll has achieved something I thought impossible: a bridge between popular science and the mathematical universe of working physicists. Magnificent!’ -- Brian Clegg, author of Ten Days in Physics that Shook the World'What is most appealing in this ambitious book is its combination of technical accuracy and lightness of tone…reader-friendly… the scientific and mathematical aspects of the book are impeccable.' -- Wall Street Journal'Reading The Biggest Ideas in the Universe is like taking an introductory physics class with a star professor – but with all of the heady lectures and none of the tedious problem sets… For those without the [STEM] background, [the result] might feel like a porthole into another world.' -- Scientific American‘Do popular books about physics leave you feeling that you’re just getting stories and not real science? If so, this is the book for you. In a clear and non-scary way, it explains the mathematical theories behind what physicists really think. Carroll’s trilogy will plug a big gap in how physics is communicated to non-specialists – and to judge from this first volume, will do so brilliantly.’ -- Philip Ball, author of Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different‘As a ten-year-old physics enthusiast, I would have loved The Biggest Ideas in the Universe. With this book, Sean Carroll rejects traditional elitism in physics and welcomes in anyone who knows only a little algebra but wants to understand the whole universe.’ -- Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author of The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred‘Sean Carroll is a wizard of empathy. In this short book, the first of three on The Biggest Ideas in the Universe, he anticipates what’s always confused you about physics and then gently guides you to enlightenment… and ultimately, to newfound wonder.’ -- Steven Strogatz, author of The Joy of X and Infinite Powers'Sean Carroll shows… that the essence of physics, including its fundamental equations, can be made accessible to anyone equipped with no more than high school math. Carroll is an accomplished science writer, a talent with few peers… The Biggest Ideas in the Universe brings science dissemination to a new level. In doing so, the biggest and most consequential idea in Carroll’s trilogy might well be that substantive discussions about science can ultimately be had by everyone.' -- Science‘Sean Carroll has produced a guide to relativity theory for the 21st century, plugging the gap between “popularisations” that emphasise the oddities without giving the facts, and textbooks that train students to manipulate equations without providing insight into what it all means. He will open your eyes to the way physicists view the universe, making fundamental ideas accessible without the need for a degree in science, but bravely ignoring the old adage that adding equations will scare readers off. Don’t be scared; this is the best lay-person’s guide to the subject, written in an accessible, entertaining style and impeccably accurate. And the author promises to tackle quantum theory next! I can’t wait.’ -- John Gribbin, senior honorary research fellow in astronomy, University of Sussex‘Sean Carroll’s greatest gift isn’t that he’s an expert on the fundamentals of physics, which he is, but that he never speaks down to his reader. He assumes that anyone, even the uninitiated, can learn to understand the formulae that underlie complicated concepts like space and time. It is a pleasure to read his work, a greater pleasure still to get a world-class education from such a witty, thoughtful teacher.’ -- Annalee Newitz, author of The Future of Another Timeline‘No-nonsense, not-dumbed-down explanations of basic laws of the universe that reward close attention.’ -- Kirkus'One-of-a-kind… Carroll flips the script and illuminates the form and beauty underlying a discipline that helps us understand all that exists.' -- Booklist

Read more less

Book Synopsis'Luminous and straightforward.' Carlo Rovelli

Read more less

Book SynopsisTable of Contents 1: Foreword 2: Introduction 3: 3000BCE – 999CE 1: Ancient Egyptian Books of the Dead 2: I Ching 3: The Art of War 4: Mahabharata 5: Dead Sea Scroll 6: Vienna Dioscoride 7: Book of Kells 8: The Blue Qur’an 9: Diamond Sutra 10: The Exeter Book 11: Directory 4: 1000-1449 1: The Tale of Genji 2: The Canon of Medicine 3: The Domesday 4: The Gospels of Henry the Lion 5: Les Très Riches 6: Heures du Duc de Berry 7: Directory 5: 1450 – 1649 1: Gutenberg Bible 2: Elementa Geometriae 3: Nuremberg Chronicle 4: Divine Comedy 5: Hypnerotomachia Poliphili 6: Harmonice Musices Odhecaton 7: The Codex Leicester 8: Vier Bücher vonmenschlicher Proportion 9: Il Principe 10: Epitome 11: Cosmographia 12: Les Prophéties 13: Aubin Codex 14: The Discoverie of Witchcraft 15: Don Quixote 16: King James Bible 17: Hortus Eystettensis 18: Tutte l’opere d’architettura 19: Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies 20: Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo 21: Bay Psalm Book 22: Directory 6: 1650-1899 1: Micrographia 2: Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica 3: Systema Naturae 4: L’Encyclopédie… des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers 5: A Dictionary of the English Language 6: Bucolica, Georgica, et Aeneis 7: Tristram Shandy 8: Fables in Verse 9: The Wealth of Nations 10: Rights of Man 11: Songs of Innocence and of Experience 12: Birds of America 13: Procedure for Writing Words, Music, and Plainsong in Dots 14: Baedeker guidebooks 15: The Pickwick Papers 16: The Holy Land 17: Photographs of British Algae: 18: Cyanotype Impressions 19: Uncle Tom's Cabin 20: Leaves of Grass 21: On the Origin of Species 22: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 23: Das Kapital 24: The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer Now Newly Imprinted 25: Un Coup de Dés Jamais N’Abolira Le Hasard 26: Directory 7: 1900 Onwards 1: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 2: The Tale of Peter Rabbit 3: The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm 4: General Theory of Relativity 5: Pro Dva Kvadrata 6: Penguin’s First 10 Paperback Books 7: The Diary of a Young Girl 8: Le Petit Prince 9: Le Deuxième Sexe 10: The Feminine Mystique 11: Silent Spring 12: Quotations from Chairman 13: Mao Tse-tung 14: Directory 8: Index 9: Acknowledgements

Read more less

Book SynopsisScience and religion have always been at each other’s throats, right?Trade Review'This book, though, is surely [Spencer's] magnum opus. It is astonishingly wide-ranging… and richly informed… So much complex history, theology and science could be heavy. What lightens the book is its clarity and the effervescent writing.' —The Sunday Times'With patience, balance and deep learning, Spencer… dismantles the myths that have accumulated around Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin and other scientific figures… Filled with wit and wisdom.' —Philip Ball, TLS'Fascinating… prepare to read something genuinely fresh in what can be an extremely hackneyed debate.' —New Scientist'Magisterial and brilliant.' —Professor John Milbank‘Easily the best exploration of the complex relation between science and religion I have ever read. As exemplary in his even-handedness as in his patient research… I suspect it will become the classic work on its subject.' —Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and his Emissary'Spencer knows his history of science. He recounts the set pieces of any such story – the trial of Galileo, Huxley vs Wilberforce, the Scopes monkey trial – with bravura.' —Spectator‘A must-read for anyone interested in this vital topic, and outstanding for its destruction of old myths about “the war between religion and science”, and for showing how complex, and various, and often positive relations have actually been.’ —Church Times, BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR'[Spencer] has a lot of interesting things to say about how exactly the often fraught relationship between science and faith has fared over the centuries… Mr. Spencer carefully reconstructs what actually happened. It’s interesting to read how the stories have become simplified and exaggerated over time… Mr. Spencer’s most important corrective is to show that Galileo’s theory raised scientific and theological questions that had not been answered at the time… a fascinating tour through a history of a difficult relationship, the fate of which is still unclear.' —Wall Street Journal'This page-turner of a book compellingly tracks the relation between science and religion, eternally bickering siblings, across two millennia. The ironies of the collaborations and oppositions between the two are brilliantly set out. You don’t have to have religious belief to recognise that science doesn’t always have the right answers. The real question: who has the authority to make statements about the natural world? Nicholas Spencer well shows that this authority – formerly in the hands of religious authorities, now usually scientific ones – has been effortfully constructed and disagreed over across time.' —Chris Wickham, author of The Inheritance of Rome'This sweeping and comprehensive look at the "war" between religion and science lays it bare as a nineteenth-century myth. Studying God’s Works – what we call "science" – was historically as important to Christianity as studying his Word. The battles we’ve mythologised – from the ancient mathematician Hypatia’s murder by a Christian mob, to Galileo kneeling before the Inquisition, to the 1925 Scopes “monkey” trial – were not about ideology, but authority. A compelling act of myth-busting.' —Nancy Marie Brown, author of The Abacus and the Cross'Illuminating… Even (or especially) those readers inclined to disagree with him will find his narrative refreshing… [Spencer] is one of Britain’s most astute observers of religious affairs… He offers an engaging tour of the intersection of religious and scientific history… Mr Spencer insightfully revisits the dust-ups involving Galileo, Darwin and John Scopes (prosecuted in Tennessee in 1925 for teaching evolution). He traces the interaction of the two disciplines in often fascinating detail.' —Economist'Highly readable... Spencer convincingly shows how, until the modern period, religion largely supported the sciences of the day.' —Financial Times'Tremendous… [Spencer's] survey of more than two millennia to the present day is consistently well-informed, witty and merciless to those wanting easy headlines. Every journalist would benefit from reading this substantial but very useful text, but all its readers will emerge better informed—and perhaps even saner.’ —Diarmaid Macculloch, Prospect'Books that attempt to encompass the whole history of science and religion within a single volume are rare. This is one of them, and it is a good one… clearly written, with plenty of humour... this superb volume... is likely to become the standard work on the subject for the general reader for many years to come, and deservedly so.' —Tablet'Nicholas Spencer is always worth reading. In this new book he brilliantly synthesises a mass of scholarly research to provide an authoritative, lucid and, at times, surprising account of the historical relations between Western science and religion. This is easily the most comprehensive and accessible history of these two "magisteria" presently available.' —Peter Harrison, author of The Territories of Science and Religion 'Spencer’s historical portrait is erudite and wide-ranging…[a] necessary [book].' —Literary Review

Read more less

'This is about gob-smacking science at the far end of reason … Take it nice and easy and savour the experience of your mind being blown without recourse to hallucinogens' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves. In this magisterial book, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its core. Quantum theory looks at the very building blocks of our world, the particles and processes without which it could not exist. Yet for 60 years most physicists believed that quantum theory denied the very existence of reality itself. In this tour de force of science history, Manjit Kumar shows how the golden age of physics ignited the greatest intellectual debate of the twentieth century. Quantum theory is weird. In 1905, Albert Einstein suggested that light was a particle, not a wave, defying a century of experiments. Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and Erwin Schrodinger's famous dead-and-alive cat are similarly strange. As Niels Bohr said, if you weren't shocked by quantum theory, you didn't really understand it. While "Quantum" sets the science in the context of the great upheavals of the modern age, Kumar's centrepiece is the conflict between Einstein and Bohr over the nature of reality and the soul of science. 'Bohr brainwashed a whole generation of physicists into believing that the problem had been solved', lamented the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann. But in "Quantum", Kumar brings Einstein back to the centre of the quantum debate. "Quantum" is the essential read for anyone fascinated by this complex and thrilling story and by the band of brilliant men at its heart.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a powerful and a thrilling narrative history revealing the roots of modern science in the medieval world. The adjective 'medieval' has become a synonym for brutality and uncivilized behavior. Yet without the work of medieval scholars there could have been no Galileo, no Newton and no Scientific Revolution. In "God's Philosophers", James Hannam debunks many of the myths about the Middle Ages, showing that medieval people did not think the earth is flat, nor did Columbus 'prove' that it is a sphere; the Inquisition burnt nobody for their science nor was Copernicus afraid of persecution; no Pope tried to ban human dissection or the number zero. "God's Philosophers" is a celebration of the forgotten scientific achievements of the Middle Ages - advances which were often made thanks to, rather than in spite of, the influence of Christianity and Islam. Decisive progress was also made in technology: spectacles and the mechanical clock, for instance, were both invented in thirteenth-century Europe. Charting an epic journey through six centuries of history, "God's Philosophers" brings back to light the discoveries of neglected geniuses like John Buridan, Nicole Oresme and Thomas Bradwardine, as well as putting into context the contributions of more familiar figures like Roger Bacon, William of Ockham and Saint Thomas Aquinas.Trade ReviewA gripping read full of fantastic illustrations; it's certainly a present I'd love to get. -- BookbagSpirited jaunt through centuries of scientific development... captures the wonder of the medieval world: its inspirational curiosity and its engaging strangeness. -- Sunday TimesA very useful general survey of a difficult topic, and a robust defence of an unfairly maligned age. -- SpectatorThis book contains much valuable material summarised with commendable no-nonsense clarity... James Hannam has done a fine job of knocking down an old caricature. -- Sunday TelegraphTakes a comprehensive but accessible look at the way modern scientific thinking developed from the firm foundations of the Medieval world. -- James Preece, LovingitA well-researched, fluently written account of a fascinating period in western intellectual history...a rewarding read...audaciously wide-ranging. -- Jonathan Wright, Catholic HeraldHannam's absorbing study brings to light the true breadth of scientific discovery during the 'Dark Ages.' -- School House Magazinea fascinating exploration of the Medieval world, the author of this book, James Hannam, shows just how wrong it is to accept all the old popular myths about decay and ignorance. -- Tom Kennedy, Science SpinWonderful... with engaging fervour, James Hannam has set about rescuing the reputation of a bunch of half-forgotten thinkers, and he shows how they paved the way for modern science. -- Boris Johnson, Mail on SundayHe has produced a well-researched, fluently written account of a fascinating period in western intellectual history. Hannam clearly understands the science (and some of it is dazzlingly sophisticated) and he has an eye for the seductive story. This is a rewarding read and its author wears his considerable learning lightly.... the best parts of this book are a triumph. -- Catholic HeraldHannam has written a splendid book and fully supported his claim that the Middle Ages laid the foundations of modern science. -- Edward Grant, MetascienceHannam, the liveliest of guides, makes enjoyable reading out of some seriously dusty history and difficult ideas. -- ScotsmanHere, in short, is a readable book, aimed at an intelligent but ignorant layman. You'll enjoy it. -- Daniel Hannan MEP, Daily TelegraphHannam...gives us a great sense of the porousness of the medieval mind. -- Spectator

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Sunday Times Top Ten BestsellerHave you ever wondered if a severed head retains consciousness long enough to see what happened to it? Or whether your dog would run to fetch help, if you fell down a disused mineshaft? And what would happen if you were to give an elephant the largest ever single dose of LSD? The chances are that someone, somewhere has conducted a scientific experiment to find out... 'Excellent accounts of some of the most important and interesting experiments in biology and psychology' Simon Singh If left to their own devices, would babies instinctively choose a well-balanced diet? Discover the secret of how to sleep on planes Which really tastes better in a blind tasting - Coke or Pepsi?

Read more less

Book SynopsisChronicles how our understanding of stroke has evolved over the centuries, drawing on primary sources to place the research in its historical context. Featuring the accounts of those present at key points in the history of stroke, this book covers both the successes and blind alleys of stroke research.Table of Contents1. The ventricles(apoplexy in the 16th century); 2. The force of blood (apoplexy in the 17th century); 3. Congestion (apoplexy in the 'long 18th century'); 4. Forgotten forms of apoplexy; 5.Haemorrhage; 6.Ramollissement; 7. Thrombosis and embolism; 8. No man's land: the neck arteries; 9. Lacunes; 10. Stroke warnings; 11. Saccular aneurysms; 12. Cerebral venous thrombosis.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWinner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books A Best Science Book of the Year for the Guardian, Financial Times, and New Scientist It was the universe’s most elusive particle, the linchpin for everything scientists dreamed up to explain how physics works. It had to be found. But projects as big as CERN’s Large Hadron Collider don’t happen without incredible risks – or occasional skulduggery. In the definitive account of the greatest science story of our time, acclaimed physicist Sean Carroll reveals the insights, rivalry, and wonder that fuelled the Higgs discovery, and takes us on a riveting and irresistible ride to the very edge of physics today.Trade Review‘An authoritative account of science’s discovery of the year. Remarkable.’ * Financial Times *‘This book is so hard to put down. That’s testament to Carroll, a practising scientist, also being a gifted writer.’ * New Scientist *‘Compelling.’ * Independent *‘A very good – and very accessible – guide to all the theoretical physics, precision engineering, data handling, probability-measuring and other marvels.’ * Guardian *‘Delightful… for anyone excited by the particle at the end of the universe, start here.’ * BBC Focus *‘Carroll keeps it real, getting at the complex guts of cutting-edge cosmology in discussions that will challenge fans of Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.’ * Washington Post *‘The science is authoritative, yet bold and lively. The narrative is richly documented, yet full of human drama. Carroll’s saga pulls you aboard a modern voyage of discovery.’ -- Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate in Physics and author of A Beautiful Question‘In this superb book, Sean Carroll provides a fascinating and lucid look at the most mysterious and important particle in nature, and the experiment that revealed it. Anyone with an interest in physics should read this, and join him in examining the new worlds of physics to which this discovery may lead.’ -- Leonard Mlodinow, internationally bestselling author of Subliminal and Elastic

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the ASLI Choice Award, Atmospheric Science Librarians International""Winner of the PROSE Award in Earth Science, Association of American Publishers""Winner of the Special Book Award, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards""Winner of the Award of Excellence in Plants and Environmental Change, Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries""A detailed and authoritative account that reveals the rich and fascinating story of this unique landscape and its climate, geology and natural history. . . . Williams’s book offers a wonderful insight into how climate can transform the landscape across long stretches of time, as well as how delicately balanced are the ecosystems on which we depend."---P. D. Smith, The Guardian"This vivid historical survey by Earth scientist Martin Williams is the result of a lifetime’s work."---Andrew Robinson, Nature"Fascinating. . . . Engrossing. . . . When the Sahara Was Green covers the cyclical, gradual desiccation of the Sahara, the changing of its biomes, the nature of its current occupants, and even the question of its future. It’s formidably researched . . . but so warmly, approachably written that learning was never so pleasant."---Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Review"Given Williams’s deep well of knowledge, this book could have been bogged down by technicalities and jargon. Instead, When the Sahara Was Green is admirably accessible to a broad audience with only basic knowledge of geography and earth sciences. Furthermore, the book stands out for the numerous clear and well-designed illustrations that explain complex concepts."---Leon Vlieger, Inquisitive Biologist"Highly accessible . . . and filled with interesting facts about geological history."---Nicole Barbaro, Bookmarked"[A] fascinating and informative introduction to the history of the Sahara, the past and present lifeforms it hosts, and its role in the wider planetary environment . . . Read this book and spread interest in Earth’s largest desert."---Jeffery Hirschy, H-Environment

Read more less

Book SynopsisAdam Rutherford (Author) Adam Rutherford is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and geneticist at University College London. His books include A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, The Book of Humans, and the Sunday Times bestseller How to Argue with a Racist. He has written and presented numerous documentaries for BBC radio and television, including Inside Science and The Cell. Adam has also worked as a science advisor on many films, including the Oscar-winning Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018).Hannah Fry (Author) Hannah Fry is currently Professor in the mathematics of cities from University College London. In January 2025 she will join Cambridge University as the first Professor for the Public Understanding of Mathematics. In January 2024, Hannah was appointed to be the new president of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. Hannah is the author of The Mathematics of Love<Trade ReviewA wonderfully engaging blend of wit, enthusiasm, clarity and knowledge. -- Bill BrysonThe illustrations are truly excellent. -- Professor Alice RobertsLike the universe itself, this book is multi-faceted, surprising and full of wonders. It's also funny, wise and exceedingly brainy. You really owe it to yourself to read it. -- Tim Harford, author of How To Make The World Add UpIf only Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry were on tap to all of us, all the time: we could turn to them whenever we wanted delicious explanations, narratives and theories to make sense of the material world. But we do have this deeply addictive book as a companion. The pair have such a gift for making life, numbers and the forces at work in the universe all the richer, stranger, funnier and more marvellous. -- Stephen FryExplores just about every area of life. * Daily Mail *

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this classic of science history, Shapin takes into account the culture the variety of beliefs, practices, and influences that in the 1600s shaped the origins of the modern scientific worldview.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor scientist and layman alike this book provides vivid evidence that the Copernican Revolution has by no means lost its significance today. Few episodes in the development of scientific theory show so clearly how the solution to a highly technical problem can alter our basic thought processes and attitudes.Trade ReviewReading this book in the current age of extrasolar planets, genetics and string theory is eye-opening. -- Caleb Scharf * Nature *An illuminating account of the intellectual transformation which laid the foundations of modern science and philosophy, and which may therefore be said to have created the modern world. * Scientific American *No other book is so patient, so comprehensive, so sensitive, in its recovery of the experience and the outlook from which the older scientific theories emerged. No other book so enables us to see the intellectual hurdles that existed and to relive something of the process of actual scientific discovery. * American Historical Review *In this study of the Copernican Revolution, [Thomas Kuhn] brings to a common focus the considered approach of the historian, the technical understanding of the scientist and the skill and experience of an able teacher. No careful reader of this well-wrought volume can fail to appreciate the nicely balanced interplay of these elements in the full explication of one of the major turning points in the evolution of scientific thought. For those concerned with the teaching of the history of science, Dr. Kuhn’s discussion of the issues involved in the Copernican Revolution will prove to be indispensable, a superb analysis of the ‘anatomy of revolution.’ Those drawn to the question of meaning which the historian of science can give to the evolution of ideas will find this book equally valuable, a paradigm of synthesis and interpretation. * Isis *Table of Contents* Foreword by James Bryant Conant *1. The Ancient Two-Sphere Universe *2. The Problem of the Planets *3. The Two-Sphere Universe in Aristotelian Thought *4. Recasting the Tradition. Aristotle to the Copernicans *5. Copernicus' Innovation *6. The Assimilation of Copernican Astronomy *7. The New Universe * Technical Appendix * References * Bibliographical * Notes * Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisNobel laureate Erwin Schrödinger's What is Life? is one of the great science classics of the twentieth century. The philosopher Karl Popper hailed it as a 'beautiful and important book' by 'a great man to whom I owe a personal debt for many exciting discussions'.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. The classical physicist's approach to the subject; 2. The hereditary mechanism; 3. Mutations; 4. The quantum-mechanical evidence; 5. Delbruck's model discussed and tested; 6. Order, disorder and entropy; 7. Is life based on the laws of physics?; Epilogue: on determinism and free will; Mind and Matter: 1. The physical basis of consciousness; 2. The future of understanding; 3. The principle of objectivation; 4. The arithmetical paradox: the oneness of mind; 5. Science and religion; 6. The mystery of the sensual qualities; Autobiographical sketches (translated from the German by Schrödinger's granddaughter Verena).

Read more less

Book SynopsisExercise is not only good for the body: it can transform your mind too. This new scientific revolution will teach you how to boost brain cells, protect yourself against mental illness and dementia, and ensure success in exams and the workplace.We all know that exercise is good for the body. But did you know that it can transform your mind? This new scientific revolution will teach you how to boost brain cells, protect yourself against mental illness and dementia, and ensure success in exams and the workplace. Follow the SPARK! training regimen and build your brain to its peak performance. This book will change the way you think about exercise - and, for that matter, the way you think.Trade ReviewForget fish oil and sudoku - it's exercise that makes you brainier … This book is the first time scientific evidence from all over the world has been pulled together to show that the fitter you are, the better your brain works' Daily Mail. * Daily Mail *If exercise came in pill form, it would be plastered across the front page, hailed as the blockbuster drug of the century. So what you waiting for? Get moving!' Focus Magazine. * Focus Magazine *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Making the Connection. Welcome to the Revolution: A Case Study on Exercise and the Brain. Learning: Grow Your Brain Cells. Stress: The Greatest Challenge. Anxiety: Nothing to Panic About. Depression: Move Your Mood. Attention Deficit: Running from Distraction. Addiction: Reclaiming the Biology of Self-Control. Hormonal Changes: The Impact on Women's Brain Health. Aging: The Wise Way. The Regimen: Build Your Brain. Afterword: Fanning the Flames. Acknowledgments. Glossary. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThoroughly updated and revised edition of a popular classic of modern anthropology.Trade Review'A well written and informative book on a subject of great importance for all social anthropologists. A work which offers a sober and balanced account of the historical growth of anthropology'. It certainly deserves to be widely read' -- The European Journal of Developmental Research'The authors describe this book as an ambitious but unpretentious attempt to 'cover all the major traditions in social and cultural anthropology'. They achieve this in nine pithy chapters that follow the development of anthropological ideas from the ancient Greeks to the end of the 1990s. -- The Australian Journal of AnthropologyTable of ContentsSeries preface Preface 1. Proto-Anthropology Introduction Herodotus and other Greeks After Antiquity The European Conquests and their Impact Why All This is not Quite Anthropology Yet The Enlightenment Romanticism 2. Victorians, Germans and a Frenchman Introduction Evolutionism and Cultural History Morgan Marx Bastian and the German Tradition Tylor and Other Victorians The Golden Bough and the Torres Expedition German Diffusionism The New Sociology Durkheim Weber 3. Four Founding Fathers Introduction The Founding Fathers and their Projects Malinowski and the Trobriand Islanders Radcliffe-Brown's Natural Science of Society Boas and Historical Particularism Mauss and the Total Social Prestation Anthropology in 1930: Parallels and Divergences 4. Expansion and Institutionalisation Introduction A Marginal Discipline? Oxford and LSE, Columbia and Chicago The Dakar-Djibouti Expedition Culture and Personality Cultural History Ethnolinguistics The Chicago School 'Kinshipology' Functionalism's Last Stand Some British Outsiders 5. Forms of Change Introduction Neo-evolutionism and Cultural Ecology Formalism and Substativism Methodological Individualists at Cambridge Role Analysis and System Theory 6. The Power of Symbols Introduction From Function to Meaning Ethnoscience and Symbolic Anthropology Geertz and Schneider Levi-Strauss and Structuralism Early Impact The State of the Art in 1968 7. Questioning Authority Introduction The Return of Marx Structural Marxism The Not-Quite-Marxists Political Economy and the Capitalist World System Feminism and the Birth of Reflexive Fieldwork Ethnicity Practice Theory The Sociobiology Debate and Samoa 8. The End of Modernism? Introduction The End of Modernism? The Postcolonial World A New Departure or a Return to Boas? Other Positions 9. Global Networks Introduction Towards an International Anthropology? Trends for the Future Biology and Culture Globalisation and the Production of Locality Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe social dynamics of “alternative facts”: why what you believe depends on who you knowTrade Review“Methodical and earnest.”—Jennifer Szalai, New York Times“The Misinformation Age covers big subjects like truth and the fate of the species” —Jennifer Szalai, International New York Times“The Misinformation Age fills an important void in the literature on misinformation . . . a valuable aid to anyone concerned with the alarmingly increasing prevalence of misinformation and polarization.”—Davis Kuykendall, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences “An important book for an era of weaponized information.”—George Musser, contributing editor, Scientific American and Nautilus"Fake news has revealed a dark side of networks: an almost unstoppable ability to spread false and misleading information, changing people's perception of reality and shaking the political establishment. The Misinformation Age is a timely, engaging narrative of how this happened and how the mix of fake news and networks is changing our world."—Albert-László Barabási, author of Linked: The New Science of Networks"In this perilous moment—when knowledge is powerfully eroded by new and effective campaigns of misinformation—O’Connor and Weatherall offer a critically important philosophical defense of evidence, facts, and above all, the truth."—Allan M. Brandt, Harvard University“The Misinformation Age is the best book I've read on why the fake-news epidemic is afflicting us and what we can do about it. It offers in-depth reporting and provocative analysis delivered in lively prose, a rare combination.”—John Horgan, director of the Center for Science Writings, Stevens Institute of Technology

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"New Zealand Listener's Best Book of 2019""One of FiveBooks' Best Climate Books of 2019""Oreskes joins a distinguished line of thinkers who explain why we should trust the findings of the scientific community . . . [and] clearly reminds readers that science has consistently brought home the bacon." * Kirkus Reviews *"Why Trust Science? is an optimistic analysis of the opportunities that exist for enhancing public trust in science. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone who is part of the scientific endeavor."---Elisabeth Gilmore, Science"[A] fascinating new book . . . in a field with few reasons to be cheerful, it is both enlightening and encouraging. Once we begin to understand the size of the chasm that separates science’s outsiders and insiders, as Oreskes clearly does, we can at least start to design a bridge."---Michael Brooks, New Scientist"Two features of science, [Oreskes] claims, account for its trustworthiness: its ‘sustained engagement with the world’ together with ‘its social character.’ Her emphasis on the second feature may surprise readers used to thinking of science as a tidy epistemic enterprise neatly insulated from social influence, but this view emerges clearly from her sober review of studies of science by historians, philosophers, sociologists, and anthropologists during the past half century."---Philip Kitcher, Boston Review"A compelling argument in favour of experts."---Hettie O’Brien, New Statesman"For both its evidence-based rigor and striking honesty, Why Trust Science? by Naomi Oreskes should be required reading for everyone in scholarly communications. Addressing the broadest view of science possible — from the experimental to the historical — this book offers crisp, accessible writing and draws important connections to our world of research dissemination and publishing."---Lettie Conrad, The Scholarly Kitchen"Naomi Oreskes challenges easy answers." * New Scientist *"A marvellous, up to date, thorough historical survey of science and its processes."---John R. Helliwell, Journal of Applied Crystallography"The decline of trust in science is one aspect of a much wider social issue, and the author gives a detailed survey of various perspectives from history and philosophy of science including many of the best-known names in the field."---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer"Oreskes' definition of science provides us with the best knowledge we can philosophically hope to get."---Ed Gibney, The Philosopher"A fascinating and accessible read that considers numerous domains and issues to bring the reader to Oreskes’ ultimate point, that trustworthy science depends on consensus, diversity, and methodological openness and flexibility."---Jeff Share, Journal of Sustainability Education"Why Trust Science? is an incredibly important work, bringing the history of science into something of a thinker’s field guide to the pursuit of knowledge. It is sharply written and, beyond being merely informative, it is sage. Wherever the reader stands on the for or against science divide, Oreskes’ determined and open-minded curiosity is infectious, as is her earned belief in science. Hopefully, it will encourage more scientists and science-lovers to spread the good word."---Katherine Oktober Matthews, Riding the Dragon"Oreskes is eloquent, insightful and bold. At a time where we are still confronted by climate change deniers and the anti-vaccine movement . . . it is easy to see why a book like this is so important. . . . This thought-provoking, timely and comprehensive book is a must-read."---Joanna Florence Sparks, Chemistry World"This book is well worth the effort for anyone concerned about climate change, protection of biodiversity, and other issues that involve science advising policy. Insights from Naomi Oreskes can bolster our arguments countering the anti-science, anti-expertise, anti-intellectual forces at work in the world today."---John Miles, National Parks Traveler

Read more less

Book SynopsisMaking Sense of World History is a comprehensive and accessible textbook that helps students understand the key themes of world history within a chronological framework stretching from ancient times to the present day.To lend coherence to its narrative, the book employs a set of organizing devices that connect times, places, and/or themes. This narrative is supported by: Flowcharts that show how phenomena within diverse broad themes interact in generating key processes and events in world history. A discussion of the common challenges faced by different types of agent, including rulers, merchants, farmers, and parents, and a comparison of how these challenges were addressed in different times and places. An exhaustive and balanced treatment of themes such as culture, politics, and economy, with an emphasis on interaction. Explicit attention to skill acquisition in organizing information, cultural sensitivity, comparison, visual Table of ContentsPART I: Organizing world history 1. Making sense of world history PART II: Prehistory and ancient history 2. The Big History prelude: From the Big Bang to hominids 3. Evolution of human nature itself in early human history 4. A critical transformation: The development of agriculture, nomadism, and fishing 5. Some early impacts of agriculture: Key technologies and trade practices 6. Grappling with “civilization”: The development of cities, states, and writing 7. Early civilizations around the world 8. Belief systems: The nature and development of early religions PART III: Classical history 9. Political organization on an unprecedented scale: The classical empires 10. Similarities and differences: The Roman and Chinese Empires compared 11. The birth of missionary religions: Why and how did the world’s major religions emerge? 12. A new force in world history: The Islamic conquests 13. Eurasia in the centuries after the fall of the classical empires PART IV: The Middle Ages 14. Seeking global commonalities: Some key thematic trends 900–1500 and beyond 15. Regional developments: Eurasia after 900 16. Regional developments: Polynesia, the Americas, and Africa 17. The Mongols and the largest ever contiguous empire PART V: The Early Modern period 18. Thematic developments in the Early Modern period 1450–1800 19. Exploration and trade: Linking the continents 20. Comparing new empires in Asia 21. It seems so natural now: The emergence of the modern nation state 22. The Great Divergence: The rise of the European economy and military PART VI: The nineteenth and twentieth centuries 23. Key thematic transformations of the long nineteenth entury 24. Industrial revolutions: Innovation, factories, and economic growth 25. Political revolutions around the world: A diverse set of experiences with important commonalities 26. A unique historical transformation: The abolition of slavery and serfdom 27. Key thematic transformations of the twentieth century 28. Devastation and fear: War in the twentieth century 29. The worst of times and the best of times: The Great Depression and postwar recovery 30. An unprecedented development: Postwar decolonization 31. Population movements: Dramatic changes in the numbers, location, and health of humans PART VII: Drawing lessons 32. Drawing lessons from history: Why, how, and what

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"James Peebles, Co-Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics""Finalist for the PROSE Award in Cosmology and Astronomy, Association of American Publishers""It's hard to imagine anyone better placed to recount the inside story of modern cosmology. . . . For anyone seriously interested in the ways of science and how we came to understand our place in the Universe, this is essential reading."---Giles Sparrow, BBC Sky at Night Magazine"As expected, the quality is top-notch. . . . [Cosmology's Century] is also very well written. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the first hundred years of modern cosmology."---Phillip Helbig, The Observatory

Read more less

Book SynopsisHugely readable and entertaining' JIM AL-KHALILIAn accessible and crystal-clear portrait of this discipline's breadth, largely told through its history' PHIL BALL, PHYSICS WORLDEinstein's Fridge tells the story of how scientists uncovered the least known and yet most consequential of all the sciences, and learned to harness the power of heat and ice.The laws of thermodynamics govern everything from the behaviour of atoms to that of living cells, from the engines that power our world to the black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Not only that, but thermodynamics explains why we must eat and breathe, how the lights come on, and ultimately how the universe will end. The people who decoded its laws came from every branch of the sciences they were engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists, cosmologists and mathematicians.Their discoveries, set over two hundred years, kick-started the industrial revolution, changed the course of world wars and informed modern understanding of black holesTrade Review‘Sen knows how to grab the attention of an audience … [An] elegantly written and engaging book … It’s a measure of Sen’s achievement that by combining science, history, and biography he takes us on a successful tour through thermodynamics.’ Manjit Kumar, Financial Times ‘When you combine some of the most profound concepts in physics with exceptional storytelling, this is what you get: popular science writing at its very best. Einstein’s Fridge is a hugely readable and entertaining history of thermodynamics and how it has created and shaped our world.’ Jim Al-Khalili, author of The World According to Physics ‘Makes a strong case that thermodynamics is every bit as lively as those other fields – and vastly more useful for understanding what makes the universe tick … Thermodynamics does not bow to other fields; other fields bow to it.’ Sam Kean, Wall Street Journal ‘Superb … Einstein’s Fridge offers an accessible and crystal-clear portrait of this discipline’s breadth … [The book] wanders widely while never losing its connection to the central theme … Splendid’ Phil Ball, Physics World ‘Although thermodynamics has been studied for hundreds of years, film-maker Sen writes, few nonscientists appreciate how its principles have shaped the modern world.’ Scientific American ‘Sen makes a convincing case for the importance of thermodynamics in his impressive debut … He accomplishes all of this with splendid prose, making ample use of analogies to explain complex scientific ideas. Sen’s history of hot and cold is pop-science that hits the mark.’ Publisher’s Weekly ‘This entertaining, eye-opening account of how the laws of thermodynamics are essential to understanding the world today – from refrigeration and jet engines to calorie counting and global warming – is a lesson in how to do popular science right.’ Kirkus Reviews ‘Sen performs an exquisite examination of an ostensibly simple distinction, the difference between hot and cold.’ Booklist

Read more less

Book SynopsisTells the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. Acclaimed scientist and sci-fi author John D. Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity.Trade Review"This insider's account of the early years of rocketry captures the excitement of researching and developing technologies that lie outside the realm of computer science. While we're accustomed to think of technological progress in terms of Moore's law, in a few short years these engineers went from launching metal tubes small enough to hold in your hand to propelling a two ton metal capsule containing three humans all the way to the moon."— Inc., 9 Powerful Books Elon Musk Recommends "A good book on rocket stuff...that's a really fun one." — Elon Musk "Ignition! is a history of liquid rocket propellants, but it's also a history of cold war and the space race, told from a particular point of view....That humor helps the accessibility, and as long as you remember some high school chemistry you shouldn't have a problem with the science either."— Ars Technica "Ignition!, originally written in 1972, is back in print after a long hiatus. A classic book, it tells a rollicking story of an era when space was the frontier. An informative history, it reads like an adventure story."— Galveston County Daily News "Read this book. You’ll find plenty about John and all the other sky-high crackpots who were in the field with him and you may even get (as I did) a glimpse of the heroic excitement that seemed to make it reasonable to cuddle with death every waking moment—to say nothing of learning a heck of a lot about the way in which the business of science is really conducted." — Issac Asimov, from the foreword "Ignition! is a hard-to-get-your-hands-on account of early rocket science...Clark was an American chemist active in the development of rocket fuels back in the 1960s and 1970s, and the book is both an account of the growth of the field and an explainer of how the science works." — Business InsiderTable of ContentsContents In Re John D. Clark - foreword by Issac Asimov Preface 1 How It Started 2 Peenemunde and JPL 3 The Hunting of the Hypergol . . . 4 . . . and Its Mate 5 Peroxide – Always a Bridesmaid 6 Halogens and Politics and Deep Space 7 Performance 8 Lox and Flox and Cryogenics in General 9 What Ivan Was Doing 10 “Exotics” 11 The Hopeful Monoprops 12 High Density and the Higher Foolishness 13 What Happens Next Glossary Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisLonglisted for the RUNCIMAN AWARD, 2021Medicine is one of the great fields of achievement of the Ancient Greeks. Hippocrates is celebrated worldwide as the father of medicine and the Hippocratic Oath is admired throughout the medical profession as a founding statement of ethics and ideals. In the fifth century BC, Greeks even wrote of medicine as a newly discovered craft they had invented.Robin Lane Fox''s remarkable book puts their invention of medicine in a wider context, from the epic poems of Homer to the first doctors known to have been active in the Greek world. He examines what we do and do not know about Hippocrates and his Oath and the many writings that survive under his name. He then focuses on seven core texts which give the case histories of named individuals, showing that books 1 and 3 belong far earlier than previously recognised. Their re-dating has important consequences for the medical awareness of the great Greek dramatists and the historians Herodotus and Thucydides. Robin Lane Fox pieces together the doctor''s thinking from his terse observations and relates it in a new way to the history of Greek prose and ideas.This original and compelling book opens windows onto many other aspects of the classical world, from women''s medicine to street-life, empire, art, sport, sex and even botany. It fills a dark decade in a new way and carries readers along an extraordinary journey form Homer''s epics to the grateful heirs of the Greek case histories, first in the Islamic world and then in early modern Europe.Trade ReviewIn this engaging history by the biographer of Alexander the Great, lightened with wry donnish wit... readers can enjoy a vivid ride through a part of Greece little visited in either body or mind. -- Peter Stothard * Financial Times *an exciting addition to a flurry of books on ancient medicine in recent years ... Lane Fox, who is known for his originality and his exceptionally broad interests as a historian, which range from Alexander the Great to Augustine, built The Invention of Medicine: From Homer to Hippocrates on a decades' worth of impressive scholarship ... His account of early Greek medicine is an engaging, well informed introduction to the complex reality of the world of healing in ancient Greece. Drawing on as many sources as possible, yet making complex data accessible to a wide audience, Lane Fox describes the skills of doctors and the experiences of their patients with gusto ... groundbreaking -- Caroline Petit * The Lancet *My favourite book from our lock-down times is The Invention of Medicine by Robin Lane Fox, a great Oxford classicist's contribution to the most needed discipline of the day. By original and skilful argument, it shows how some of the direct observations attributed to Hippocrates, the 'father of medicine', dated by him earlier than most of us had thought before, influenced Thucydides and other writers at the very birth of reasoned history. -- Peter Stothard * Aspects of History Books of the Year *a most welcome contribution to this ever-growing field by one of today's most eminent voices in ancient history. In his latest book, Robin Lane Fox, probably best known for his work on Alexander the Great and Augustine, offers a refreshing and at points ground-breaking revision of the beginnings of ancient Greek medicine ... In his attempt to disentangle and revise the 'invention of medicine' as a highly complex and multifaceted phenomenon in early medical history Robin Lane Fox succeeds brilliantly in constructing a narrative that is, at the same time, innovative and introductive, informative and entertaining, thoroughly historical yet with the occasional contemporary twist. Writing in an accessible style, aimed at both a general and informed readership and abounding in donnish wit, Lane Fox takes his reader on a scholarly joyride -- Michiel Meeusen * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *Radically, Lane Fox is keen to date Books One and Three of the Epidemics very early in the story of the development of Greek medicine, much earlier than anyone else has done ... The case is ingenious ... He knows how to pace a narrative and he has a raconteur's eye for detail. -- Alastair Blanshard * Times Literary Supplement *Lane Fox leads us down intriguing paths of epigraphy, political history, philology and archaeology -- James Romm * London Review of Books *Robin Lane Fox's remarkable The Invention of Medicine brings to vivid life the island city of Thasos in the fifth century bc, when it was home to the author of books of case studies now called Epidemics I and 3, whose details are so forensic that we can diagnose his patients' ailments and pinpoint their addresses in the modern city. Around these works Lane Fox weaves a compelling history of Greek medicine, before arguing that they betray such scientific rigour that their author can be none other than Hippocrates himself. -- David Stuttard * Aspects of History Books of the Year *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of our great contemporary scientists reveals the ten profound insights that illuminate what everyone should know about the physical worldIn Fundamentals, Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek offers the reader a simple yet profound exploration of reality based on the deep revelations of modern science. With clarity and an infectious sense of joy, he guides us through the essential concepts that form our understanding of what the world is and how it works. Through these pages, we come to see our reality in a new way--bigger, fuller, and stranger than it looked before.Synthesizing basic questions, facts, and dazzling speculations, Wilczek investigates the ideas that form our understanding of the universe: time, space, matter, energy, complexity, and complementarity. He excavates the history of fundamental science, exploring what we know and how we know it, while journeying to the horizons of the scientific world to give us a glimpse of what we may soon discover. Brilliant, lucid, and accessible, this celebration of human ingenuity and imagination will expand your world and your mind.Trade ReviewA gorgeous and inviting overview of the fundamental facts of physical reality. -- Steven Pinker, Johnson Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of Enlightenment NowIf you were to go back just two hundred years and tell people what we knew, from the origins of the universe to the molecular basis of life, and how weird and unintuitive nature is at the atomic scale, they would think we were crazy. But if you showed them what we have created with that knowledge, they would think we were magicians. In this engaging and highly accessible book, Frank Wilczek shows how the vast edifice that is modern science was constructed with only a few ingredients and assumptions, but depended crucially on a way of thinking--about the nature of evidence and how it applied to the world around us. Anyone interested in the underlying basis of the complexity of today's science will enjoy this book. -- Venki Ramakrishnan, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and author of Gene MachineFrank Wilczek is not only one of the world's greatest physicists; he's also one of its greatest explainers. Fundamentals is lucid, beautiful, and revelatory. -- Steven Strogatz, professor of mathematics, Cornell University, and author of Infinite PowersWhether or not you're accustomed to reading physics for pleasure, the Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek's Fundamentals might be the perfect book for the winter of this plague year... Wilczek writes with breathtaking economy and clarity, and his pleasure in his subject is palpable... What a reader gets in Fundamentals is the native language of physics - mathematics - precisely translated by someone who has spent a lifetime (about a billion thoughts!) on these forces that shape our physical world -- Nell Freudenberger * The New York Times *This is an exuberant, gorgeously crafted, and intellectually thrilling book, written by one of our greatest living scientists yet hospitable to all. To be reminded that time and space, mystery and order, are so much stranger and more generous than we can comprehend-this is a gift to public life and moral imagination in a young century where what is visible and tangible feels chaotic and constricting. This book is also unexpectedly spiritually thrilling. Wilczek makes the remarkable move of picking up and evolving the classic scientists' faith that their investigations would reveal the mind of our maker, as well as Einstein's self-described 'cosmic spiritual sensibility.' What began as an exposition, as Wilzcek writes, 'grew into a contemplation.' The result is a profoundly enriched understanding, accessible to the religious and non-religious alike, of what it means to be human-and what we might be pointing at when we use the word God. -- Krista Tippett, host of On Being and author of Becoming Wise[Wilczek] turns out to be a true visionary * The Times *For those with more scientific yearnings, and who regret not taking a few courses in college to learn about the physical world, theoretical physicist Frank Wilczek offers a way to catch up . . . With his clear and joyful voice, Wilczek succeeds very well, and for good reason . . . There is no calculus required; this is not Physics 101. Instead, Wilczek talks about modern physics and cosmology from a more broad-brush and philosophical perspective, often linking their findings to the real world - how they affect us. In this age of rising skepticism, he wants his readers - whom he imagines to be lawyers, doctors, artists, parents or simply curious people - to be 'born again, in the way of science'. * Washington Post *A lucid and riveting narrative of the fundamentals-what Wilczek calls 'the central messages of modern physics,' which are not just facts about how the world works but also 'the style of thought that allowed us to discover them. * Scientific American *Mr. Wilczek's prose pulses with enthusiasm for its subject -- Christopher Levenick * Wall Street Journal *The universe at its grandest and most minuscule is explored in this beguiling meditation on physics. . . a stimulating and very readable scientific tour of the cosmos. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *...breathtaking feat . . . the narrative is a mind-bender of the first order-in the best way possible-but what makes it so engrossing is that the author does far more than just present the facts and speculations, however fascinating; on every page, readers will glean his exhilaration and joy in discovery . . . Another winner from Wilczek, who invites us to be born again into a richer, deeper understanding of the world. * Kirkus,starred review *This is a book about deep ideas, not passing fancies. It will teach you profound principles, not dry lists of facts. It's a rare treat indeed to get a glimpse into the mind of one of the world's leading physicists, presented in an engaging style that will be enjoyed by anyone at all. -- Sean Carroll, author of Something Deeply HiddenHow is the universe put together? Beneath the bewildering clamor of the world around us, there lies a hidden realm of subtle mathematical beauty, a bedrock of fundamental principles in which all of nature is grounded. Few living scientists have accomplished more than Frank Wilczek in helping unveil that deeper layer of existence. With poetry and fervor, Wilczek takes us on a breathtaking journey to the frontiers of physics, and reminds us of just how privileged we human beings are to glimpse the foundations of reality. -- Paul Davies, Regents' Professor at Arizona State University and author of The Demon in the MachineA delightful book . . . Frank Wilczek is that rare creature: a first-class scientist who is also an extremely talented communicator. . . Wilczek constantly finds fresh ways to present such ideas, so that you emerge with new insight into what they mean. . . . Fundamentals is, then, not only an exceptional piece of science communication but also a deeply humanistic book * Physics World *Fundamentals is an engaging account of the history of humankind's understanding of reality, told by one of the key contributors to recent parts of that story. Wilczek's grasp on the physics he relates is comprehensive and authoritative; he conveys technicalities with a rare combination of accuracy and accessibility . . . Wilczek provides an exceptionally clear guide to the state of physical knowledge in the early 21st century, much in the spirit of the sort of explanation that the ancient Greeks desired * Science News *It's hard to imagine a better tour of fundamental physics than the one I got from Frank Wilczek here. Loved it -- Sam Harris, Twitter

Read more less

Book SynopsisResurrects the largely forgotten figure of Velikovsky and uses his strange career and surprisingly influential writings to explore the changing definitions of the line that separates legitimate scientific inquiry from what is deemed bunk and to show how vital this question remains to us today.Trade Review"A slyly funny writer.... Make no mistake: Michael D. Gordin's sympathies are not with the occult. His fascination with pseudoscience is more like a negative method: the experts define the boundaries of their domain by fending off the quacks. For Gordin, pseudoscience is an instrument by which he takes the temperature of the past.... The Pseudoscience Wars is a relatively slim volume, but Gordin siphons into it an overwhelming amount of information." (New Republic) "Those who are interested in how bad ideas start, how they diffuse, how they covet and resist confrontation, and how they wax and wane in popularity over time will find much food for thought in this gripping book." (Science) "Scholarly and highly readable.... Michael D. Gordin's historical analysis of pseudoscience remains disturbingly relevant." (Nature)"

Read more less

Book SynopsisLong before GPS and Google Earth, humans traveled vast distances using environmental clues and simple instruments. What is lost when technology substitutes for our innate capacity to find our way? Illustrated with 200 drawings, this narrative—part treatise, part travelogue, and part navigational history—brings our own world into sharper view.Trade ReviewOne of the repeated themes of The Lost Art of Finding Our Way is that even the most confused of us can improve our navigational understanding by paying closer attention to the world around us… A learned and encyclopedic grab bag, packed with information drawn from study and Huth’s own experience. -- Michael Dirda * Washington Post *It’s a great reference, filled with personal and historical anecdotes and fascinating bits of physics, astronomy, oceanography, and meteorology. And that’s one of Huth’s central points: To find your way in a world without maps, you can’t rely on any single cue—you need to make the best of whatever combination of cues is available to you… With a little study, The Lost Art of Finding Our Way could be your guide to reconnecting with the navigational aids in the world around you. -- Greg Miller * Wired *John Huth’s The Lost Art of Finding Our Way is a book for anyone who’s ever cursed themselves for not being able to get home by way of the stars and winds. Or for anyone who wants to learn how the Vikings and others once managed to. -- Thomas Meaney * Times Literary Supplement *Full of wisdom that is fast disappearing in an age of satnav and GPS. -- Arthur Musgrave * The Guardian *[Huth’s] exuberance shines through: he makes gadgets in his garage and narrates adventures at sea. Huth’s is a book filled with joy about what we might term the everyday mathematics of living on the Earth… Huth is concerned that we have become desensitized to our physical environment because of technology such as smartphones and global positioning systems, which do the work of plotting and routefinding for us. To live in what Huth dubs ‘the bubble’ created by such devices is to lose not only our wonder at the world but also a bundle of precious survival skills. To be able to find our way in the world is to reconnect with its value in a virtuous spiral of environmental awareness. -- Robert J. Mayhew * Times Higher Education *The book offers a clear, comprehensive, and entertaining short course in navigation that draws on Earth science, history, anthropology, neuroscience, archaeology, and linguistics. It provides both a primer on navigational techniques and a tour through ‘the historical evolution of way finding.’ Huth punctuates instruction on celestial navigation and reading wind, weather, and currents with engaging stories and images. These are derived from sources as varied as the oral histories of Pacific Islanders and Inuit hunters, Homer’s Odyssey, Icelandic sagas, navigational tables from the medieval Islamic world, and contemporary news reports and sailing accounts. -- Deirdre Lockwood * Science *Humanity’s lust for exploring terra incognita shaped and tested our prodigious capacity for mental mapping. Now, with the advent of the Global Positioning System, wayfaring skills are on the wane. Physicist John Edward Huth turns explorer in this rich, wide-ranging and lucidly illustrated primer on how to find yourself in the middle of somewhere. Huth’s prescription for navigating fog, darkness, open ocean, thick forests or unknown terrain rests first on harnessing compass, Sun and stars; then on the subtleties of weather forecasting and decoding markers such as the wind, waves and tides. * Nature *[An] irresistible book… Huth has an affable, smart tone, as welcoming as a Billy Collins poem. His knowledge of way-finding and its history is rangy and detailed, but his enthusiasm never flickers, lifting the educational factor to higher ground: rewarding, artful, ably conveying what can be some fairly abstruse material, the finer points of navigation being among them. There are, by the way, many, many fine points regarding navigation, and if Huth gets a bit windy in pointing them out, well, let the wind blow. It’s refreshing. -- Peter Lewis * Barnes & Noble Review *Early humans learned to navigate on land and sea by watching the world around them… Huth recovers some of this history by looking at Norse legends, the records of Arab traders moving across the Indian Ocean and Pacific Islanders… Huth’s subject is fascinating… We have lost many of our innate abilities on the way to this technologically advanced moment in time. But John Edward Huth believes, and his book shows, that some of what was lost can still be found. We just need to relearn how to read the signs. -- Anthony Sattin * Literary Review *Lamenting the loss of navigational skills, [Huth] set out to collect in one volume the many schemes that kept our forebears alive. Ancient explorers could, through navigational nous, undertake voyages over great expanses of ocean and land to establish settlements and trade routes, and return home. -- Peter Monaghan * Chronicle of Higher Education *Just as we are said to have abandoned the art of memory when we started writing things down, so Huth says that we have lost our instinct for knowing how to get from here to there. Before the scientific revolution we had the ability to interpret environmental information that enabled us to navigate long distances. Huth surveys Pacific Islanders, medieval Arab traders, Vikings and early Western European travellers before examining techniques for navigators to look to the stars for astronomical beacons, as well as to the weather and the water. -- Iain Finlayson * The Times *

Read more less

Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”—Entertainment WeeklyNOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” (LITHUB), AND “BEST” (THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTIONNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Entertainment Weekly • O: The Oprah Magazine • NPR • Financial Times • New York • Indepen

Read more less

Book SynopsisLysenko became one of the most notorious figures in twentieth-century science after his genetic theories were discredited decades ago. Yet some scientists now claim that discoveries in epigenetics prove that he was right after all. Loren Graham reopens the case, to determine whether new developments in molecular biology validate Lysenko’s claims.Trade ReviewThe ways that politics, religion, cultural norms, and ideologies of all kinds distort science is at the heart of Lysenko’s Ghost. Those ideologies can alter our interpretation of facts and reshape our understanding of natural events. -- Maggie Koerth-Baker * Technology Review *Graham has delivered an account of one of the most infamous and important, yet least-known episodes in twentieth-century science—one on which he is the leading scholar. -- Edward O. WilsonThis book adds valuable new insights into the current debates concerning elements of the newly emerging field of epigenetics and its connections to the older debates about the inheritance of acquired characteristics, especially in the context of Russia and the theories of Lysenko. Graham is in command of the materials throughout and in many cases he is one of the few who knows the materials at hand. -- Everett Mendelsohn, Harvard UniversityA thoughtful, historically grounded, and engaging commentary on current Russian perspectives on Lysenko and his legacy in the context of recent developments in epigenetics and Russian politics and culture. -- Daniel Todes, Johns Hopkins UniversityGraham’s book is a timely and important antidote to the idea that everything that is not mainstream heredity is Lysenkoism. -- Maurizio Meloni * Science *[Graham’s] survey of the terrifying milieu in which Lysenko thrived includes a discussion of the eugenics movement in the Soviet Union, and the short book thus encompasses two major types of threat to the integrity of scientific inquiry: institutional interference from without and political infection from within. The latter threat, in particular, is ever present…Graham’s survey of Lysenkoism and eugenics in Soviet Russia contains important lessons about threats to the health of science. -- Nicholas Wade * Wall Street Journal *Graham offers a sweeping history of the concept of inheritance of acquired characteristics as it shaped, and was shaped by, philosophy and politics in the 19th and 20th century. The book highlights how the scientific process can be imperiled when political objectives—here, Lysenko’s goals for demonstrating that environmental conditions can induce heritable biological change—are prioritized over experimental design and data analysis. -- D. P. Genereux * Choice *

Read more less

Book SynopsisClimate Change and Human History provides a concise introduction to the relationship between human beings and climate change throughout history. Starting hundreds of thousands of years ago and going up to the present day, this book illustrates how natural climate variability affected early human societies and how human activity is now leading to drastic changes to our climate. Taking a chronological approach the authors explain how climate change created opportunities and challenges for human societies in each major time period, covering themes such as phases of climate and history, climate shocks, the rise and fall of civilizations, industrialization, accelerating climate change and our future outlook. This 2nd edition includes a new chapter on the explosion of social movements, protest groups and key individuals since 2017 and the implications this has had on the history of climate change, an improved introduction to the Anthropocene and extra content on the basic dynamics oTrade Review“A superb work of historical and scientific synthesis. Lieberman and Gordon show how fruitful collaborative efforts between scientists and humanists can be.” * Frank Zelko, Associate Professor of History, University of Hawaii, USA *“Climate Change in Human History demonstrates just how fundamentally a changing climate has worked its way through into the pores of the historical record. This impressive and vastly important volume lays out, in an accessible and stimulating way, a comprehensive narrative from human origins to what may become our anthropogenic twilight. Essential reading not just for historians but students of all disciplines!” * Mark Levene, Emeritus Fellow, History, University of Southampton, UK *They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. When it comes to climate change, understanding the impact of past climate changes on human civilization is critical to assessing the unprecedented threat we face with human-caused climate change. Now updated to include key movements and events since 2017, there is no better treatment of the topic than Climate Change in Human History. It is a must-read for anyone seeking greater knowledge of climate history and what it can teach us. * Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Penn State University, USA *Climate Change and Human History remains easily the best introduction to this topic for students. Each chapter combines up-to-date climate science and apt historical interpretation with a global scope. The new edition brings the story up to the present, with a concise explanation of climate change impacts, adaptations, and policies. I recommend it to anyone seeking historical perspectives on our current crisis. * Sam White, Professor of Environmental History, Ohio State University, USA *Table of ContentsGlossary Timeline Introduction 1. A Fragile Start: Ice Ages 2. The Rise of Farming 3. Complex Societies 4. Climate and Civilizations of the Middle Ages 5. Little Ice Age and Regional Climate Change 6. Humans Take Over: Industrialization and Climate Change 7. The Future is Now: Climate Change and Human Societies in the 21st Century 8. Climate Change and Human Responses: Projections and Controversies 9. Declarations, Rebellions and Marches: The Climate Change Emergency Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the ancient origins of astronomy to the Copernican revolution, and from Galileo to Hawking''s research into black holes, The Story of Astronomy charts the discoveries of some of the greatest minds in human history, and their attempts to unveil the secrets of the stars. Peter Aughton''s trademark narrative style is to the fore, demystifying some of the biggest breakthroughs in the history of science, and packed full of fascinating nuggets such as why we have 60 minutes in an hour, how the Romans bodged the invention of the leap year and when people really discovered the Earth wasn''t flat (a thousand years before Columbus). And explaining in the most straightforward and compelling of ways what Newton, Einstein, Hubble and Hawking really achieved. Richly informative and readable, The Story of Astronomy is a fascinating journey through 3000 years of stargazing. Included are chapters on: The Origins of Astronomy; From Babylon to Ancient Greece; The Almagest; PersianTable of ContentsIntroduction. The Origins of Astronomy. From Babylon to Ancient Greece. The Almagest. Astronomy in the Dark Ages. The Copernican Revolution. Chasing the Paths of the Planets. Galileo: The Great Telescope Maker. Jeremiah Horrocks: Father of English Astronomy. The Clockwork Universe. English and French Rivalry. Finding Longitude. William Herschel: Gazing Deeper into Space. Understanding the Forces of Nature. Albert Einstein: Relativity Redefines Astronomy. The Hubble Universe. From Microcosm to Macrocosm. Beyond the Visible Spectrum. Black Holes, Quasars and the Universe. Stephen Hawking: Exploring the Boundaries of Space. Astronomy in the Space Age. The Big Bang and the Creation of the Universe. Dark Matter and Dark Energy. Planets, Moons and the Search for Life. Glossary. Further Reading. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhy do the best-known examples of evolutionary change involve the alteration of one kind of animal into another very similar one, like the evolution of a bigger beak in a bird? Wouldn''t it be much more interesting to understand how beaks originated? Most people would agree, but until recently we didn''t know much about such origins. That is now changing, with the growth of the interdisciplinary field evo-devo, which deals with the relationship between how embryos develop in the short term and how they (and the adults they grow into) evolve in the long term. One of the key questions is: can the origins of structures such as beaks, eyes, and shells be explained within a Darwinian framework? The answer seems to be yes, but only by expanding that framework. This book discusses the required expansion, and the current state of play regarding our understanding of evolutionary and developmental origins.Trade Review'Wallace Arthur treats his readers to an eminently readable but still deeply rooted introduction into one of the most significant achievements of evolutionary biology: how evolutionary developmental biology put the organism back into the centre of evolutionary thinking.' Günter P. Wagner, Yale University, USA'Evo-devo deals with the multiple connections that exist between the biological processes of evolution and development. However, as an interface subject, there is a plurality of views on its content and its boundaries. In spite of that, Wallace Arthur has succeeded in writing an extremely clear and highly accessible guide to this fascinating, multifaceted discipline. Using the concept of 'developmental repatterning' as a common thread, the book provides a balanced view of evo-devo, covering its main achievements and future challenges. This is an ideal entry point for the non-specialist, but also a stimulating read for the practitioner who wants to consider her/his research in a wider perspective.' Giuseppe Fusco, University of Padova, Italy'Occasionally I feel that the field of Evolution and Development has lost its way, becoming submerged in myriad examples and details that don't expand our understanding of life. Wallace's book expounds the intellectual underpinnings of Evolution and Development, leads us through the key questions, and finally shows how the details and examples inform our future understanding. This book provides not just a guide to Evolution and Development, but also a spur to refocus and redouble our efforts to use development to help understand the evolution of life on Earth.' Peter Dearden, University of Otago, New ZealandTable of ContentsPreface; Acknowledgements; 1. What is evo-devo and why is it important?; 2. Antecedents of evo-devo; 3. Evolutionary and developmental essentials; 4. Evo-devo essentials; 5. The evolution of variations on a theme; 6. The evolutionary origins of themes and novelties; 7. The evolutionary origins of body plans; 8. Body plan features and toolkit genes; 9. Bringing it all together; Concluding remarks; Summary of common misunderstandings; References; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe New Biology argues that mechanical reductionism, though helpful in answering many biological questions, cannot on its own explain complex biological systems. Promoting a more holistic approach, the authors contend that both mechanistic and organicist views are invaluable frameworks for understanding life.Trade ReviewA feisty, engaging, and highly readable exploration of contemporary trends in biology. This book makes a compelling case for recovering organicist approaches to biology if we are to understand the complexity of life and biological systems. -- Alister McGrath, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, University of Oxford Since the time of Aristotle, the nature of living systems has been a topic of major philosophical and scientific debate, enhanced by the rise of molecular biology and the sciences of emergent complexity during the twentieth century. In lucid prose, Reiss and Ruse reveal how the debate is extremely relevant to our lives today. -- Bruce Weber, coauthor of Darwinism Evolving The mechanism-holism debate undergirds much of the history and philosophy of biology, but it is often cast as a stale topic fraught with abstractions about the properties of life. This book offers us a lively, engaging, and occasionally provocative rethink about an age-old topic that is very much alive and relevant to contemporary biology today. -- Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis, University of Florida A fascinating exploration. Reiss and Ruse offer a clear roadmap for a better understanding of complexity and emergence across the life sciences, vital for evolution, behavioral science, science education, and science's conversation with faith. -- Joe Cain, Professor, University College London Science is often portrayed as an objective quest for truth, not influenced by the social, cultural, historical, and religious contexts in which it is practiced. In this splendid book, Michael Ruse and Michael Reiss show that science has always been, and will likely always be, in reciprocal influence, and in continuous interaction, with the many ways through which we perceive the world. Reading this book will make you see science in a brand new way. -- Kostas Kampourakis, coauthor of Uncertainty: How It Makes Science Advance This is an informative, clearly written, and timely exploration of the historical roots and the current uses and misuses of the notions of mechanism and organicism. The insights in this book could lead to richer methodologies and better coping mechanisms across health, gender, race, ecological sustainability, and religion. -- Eva Jablonka, author of Picturing the Mind: Consciousness through the Lens of Evolution

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis''A fascinating book . . . Bhaskar is a reassuringly positive and often witty guide''Observer''A fascinating, must-read book covering a vast array of topics from the arts to the sciences, technology to policy. This is a brilliant and thought-provoking response to one of the most critical questions of our age: how we will come up with the next generation of innovation and truly fresh ideas?''Mustafa Suleyman, cofounder of DeepMind and Google VP''Have big ideas and big social and economic changes disappeared from the scene? Michael Bhaskar''s Human Frontiers is the best look at these all-important questions.''Tyler Cowen, author of The Great Stagnation and The Complacent Class''Michael Bhaskar explores the disturbing possibility that a complacent, cautious civilization has lost ambition and is slowly sinking into technological stagnation rather than accelerating into a magical future. He is calling foTrade ReviewA fascinating, must-read book covering a vast array of topics from the arts to the sciences, technology to policy. This is a brilliant and thought-provoking response to one of the most critical questions of our age: how we will come up with the next generation of innovation and truly fresh ideas? -- Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder, DeepMind; Google VPHave 'Big Ideas' and big social and economic changes disappeared from the scene? Michael Bhaskar's HUMAN FRONTIERS is the best look at these all-important questions -- Tyler Cowen, author of THE GREAT STAGNATION and THE COMPLACENT CLASSMichael Bhaskar explores the disturbing possibility that a complacent, cautious civilisation has lost ambition, and is slowly sinking into technological stagnation, rather than accelerating into a magical future. He is calling for bold, adventurous innovators to go big again. A fascinating book -- Matt Ridley, author of HOW INNOVATION WORKSMichael Bhaskar deftly delivers big ideas about big ideas ... HUMAN FRONTIERS is an admiring stroll through the history of ideas and an impressive display of innovation erudition -- Safi Bahcall, author of LOONSHOTS: NURTURE THE CRAZY IDEAS THAT WIN WARS, CURE DISEASES, AND TRANSFORM INDUSTRIESMichael Bhaskar's HUMAN FRONTIERS is a greatly welcome contrast to both doom-and-gloom and overly boosterish views of humanity's future. It combines a masterful breadth of social perspective with an impressive grasp of our problems and potential solutions. Visionary and convincing -- Christine Peterson, co-founder, Foresight InstituteBhaskar wants us to believe that big ideas, sometimes seized upon in an instant, propel humankind's progress. The thesis is boldly and elegantly stated; the examples work in its favor. This important book demands our answer -- Margaret C. Jacob, University of California, Los AngelesSweeping in scope and thought-provoking throughout, HUMAN FRONTIERS is vital for understanding every aspect of Big Ideas: their origins, their role in societal progress, and how we can make more of them ... A paean to curiosity, HUMAN FRONTIERS is essential reading for understanding how science and progress works, and how it can work in the future -- Samuel Arbesman, Scientist in Residence, Lux Capital; author of OVERCOMPLICATED and THE HALF-LIFE OF FACTSThe world's big ideas are slowing down, but it needn't be that way. Bhaskar brilliantly shows how we can do better. If you loved books like HUMANKIND and SAPIENS, you'll love HUMAN FRONTIERS -- David Bodanis, author of EINSTEIN’S GREATEST MISTAKE and THE ART OF FAIRNESSIdeas through history often reconfigure our world. But is this vital process slowing down and stagnating? With infectious enthusiasm and verve, Michael Bhaskar addresses these questions by taking us on an exhilarating grand tour of the history and future of big ideas. Bhaskar's inspiring call to arms, shining a bright and unflinching light on the challenges we face, is itself a reason to feel hopeful -- Ziyad Marar, author of JUDGED: THE VALUE OF BEING MISUNDERSTOODFull of fascinating stories and surprising insights, HUMAN FRONTIERS is one of the most exciting and thought-provoking books I've read in years. Only a genuine polymath like Michael Bhaskar could write a book as big and bold as this -- Roman Krznaric, author of THE GOOD ANCESTOR: HOW TO THINK LONG TERM IN A SHORT-TERM WORLDthe most important book that I have read in a long time. With a broadside of explosive arguments, superb examples that effortlessly jump from big science to literature and back again, and an unputdownable writing style, Michael Bhaskar explains why our civilization appears to have run out of big ideas. An essential read -- Mark Piesing, journalist and author of N-4 DOWN: THE HUNT FOR THE ARCTIC AIRSHIP ITALIAA brilliant, and brilliantly readable, survey of the frontiers of human ingenuity and how we might, just, think our way through the big challenges of the century ahead -- Professor Sir Geoff Mulgan, UCLA fascinating book . . . Bhaskar is a reassuringly positive and often witty guide * Observer *

Read more less

Book SynopsisOne of Gardens Illustrated's Best Books of 2020Acclaimed author David Mabberley provides a ground-breaking analysis of early European understanding of Australia’s lora. Combining science, horticulture, art and economics, this lavishly illustrated book – with many never before-published images – reveals the motives and complex networks that led to the international spread of knowledge and cultivation of hundreds of Australian plants in Europe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.Based on the superb Peter Crossing Collection, Botanical Revelation documents a revolutionary phase in the understanding of Australia’s flora and science more generally.Features: David Mabberley is one of the world’s foremost botanical scholarsof early colonial Australia The detailed story of early European encounters with Australianplants is told here for the first time A beautifully designed and produced book packed with stunningillustrations, many never before published Uses a comprehensive private library - the Peter Crossing Collection-devoted to the early encountering, documenting and illustratingof Australian plants by Europeans before Darwin came here in1836 - to tell a fascinating story Trade Review"A hugely impressive endeavour [...] all efforts to delve into this book will be more than amply repaid." - Gardens Illustrated

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 1665, an infectious disease swept through the British capital and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. The Great Plague of London haunted the memories of those who survived it. But it would take another two hundred years for the cause of this illness to be discovered: a small but powerful bacterium called Yrsina pestis. In those centuries, our understanding of diseases was transformed.So Very Small is a brilliant journey through the epic history of bacteria, microbes and germs. Spanning centuries and continents, it draws on significant world events the recurrent outbreaks of plague in Europe and Asia, the 1721 Boston smallpox outbreak, the great cholera pandemics of the 19th century as well as the pioneering scientific discoveries that have furthered our understanding of bacteria. The compelling narrative culminates in a great medical breakthrough, the development of antibiotic treatment that has been the salvation of much of humanity in the twentieth century. Levenson also describes the medical and conceptual prejudices that so often delayed scientists' ability to conquer infectious diseases. We still race today to stay ahead of strains of bacteria that are rapidly evolving.Fascinating and immersive, So Very Small is an entertaining, well written and deeply researched history of the scientific quest to understand how tiny organisms have impacted the wider world.

Read more less

Book Synopsis This is a new translation, with introduction, commentary, and an explanatory glossary. 'Sachs''s translation and commentary rescue Aristotle''s text from the rigid, pedantic, and misleading versions that have until now obscured his thought. Thanks to Sachs''s superb guidance, the Physics comes alive as a profound dialectical inquiry whose insights into the enduring questions about nature, cause, change, time, and the ''infinite'' are still pertinent today. Using such guided studies in class has been exhilarating both for myself and my students.' ––Leon R. Kass, The Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago Aristotle’s Physics is the only complete and coherent book we have from the ancient world in which a thinker of the first rank seeks to say something about nature as a whole. For centuries, Aristotle’s inquiry into the causes and conditions of motion and rest dominated science and philosophy. To understand the inTrade ReviewSachs's translation and commentary rescue Aristotle's text from the rigid, pedantic, and misleading versions that have until now obscured his thought. Thanks to Sachs's superb guidance, the Physics comes alive as a profound dialectical inquiry whose insights into the enduring questions about nature, cause, change, time, and the 'infinite' are still pertinent today. Using such guided studies in class has been exhilarating both for myself and my students. -- Leon R. Kass * The Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago *Table of ContentsSeries Editor's Preface Introduction Note on Aristotle's Central Vocabulary Book I Beginnings Book II, Chapter 1-3 Causes Chapters 4-9 Chance and Necessity Book III, Chapters 1-3 Motion Chapters 4-8 The Infinite Book IV, Chapters 1-5 Place Chapters 6-9 The Void Chapters 10-14 Time Book V Motions as Wholes Book VI Internal Structure of Motions Book VII Relation of Mover and Moved Book VIII, Chapters 1-6 Deduction of Motionless First Mover Chapters 7-10 The First Motion

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe revealing backstory of spaceflight before the establishment of NASA.NASA''s history is a familiar story, culminating with the agency successfully landing men on the moon in 1969, but its prehistory is an important and rarely told tale. Breaking the Chains of Gravity looks at the evolving roots of America''s space program--the scientific advances, the personalities, and the rivalries between the various arms of the United States military.America''s space agency drew together some of the best minds the non-Soviet world had to offer. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and the U.S. Air Force, meanwhile, brought rocket technology into the world of manned flight. The road to NASA and successful spaceflight was paved by fascinating stories and characters. At the end of World War II, Wernher von Braun escaped Nazi Germany and came to America where he began developing missiles for the United States Army. Ten years after he createdTrade ReviewTeitel explores the fascinating history of one of the most crucial space flight innovations that made the Apollo moon landings possible. * How it Works *Teitel delivers on detail, such as the exploits of supersonic-flight pioneer Chuck Yeager. * Nature *A really compulsive story, excellently and engagingly told, effortlessly carries the burden of fact and detail with as much deceptive ease as a Redstone Rocket. * Adventures in Historyland *Breaking the Chains of Gravity tells the story of how we began to explore the cosmos – the lessons we had to learn the hard way – and shows why space exploration even today remains anything but routine. * Bobak Ferdowsi, Flight Director, Mars Science Laboratory *Teitel … illuminates the foundations of American spaceflight with this exceptional and detailed ‘prehistory’ of the field … fascinating new territory, filled with a galaxy of lively characters. * Publisher's Weekly *Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1: Hobby Rocketeers Chapter 2: The Rocket Loophole Chapter 3: The Turning Tide of War Chapter 4: Escape and Surrender Chapter 5: Nazi Rockets in New Mexico Chapter 6: Rockets Meet Airplanes Chapter 7: A New War, a New Missile, and a New Leader Chapter 8: Higher and Faster Chapter 9: Edging into Hypersonics Chapter 10: The Floating Astronaut Chapter 11: Space Becomes an Option Chapter 12: The First Satellite Race Chapter 13: One Little Ball’s Big Impact Chapter 14: The Fight to Control Space Epilogue: America Finds Its Footing in Space Glossary of People Glossary of Places and Organizations Glossary of Rockets Selected Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Index

Read more less