History of science Books

Book SynopsisThis new edition of Leonardo Da Vinci''s Codex Leicester is the most comprehensive scholarly edition of any of Leonardo''s manuscripts. It contains a high-quality facsimile reproduction of the Codex, a new transcription and translation, accompanied by a paraphrase in modern language and a page-by-page commentary, and a series of interpretative essays.This important endeavour introduces important new research into the interpretation of the texts and images, on the setting of Leonardo''s ideas in the context of ancient and medieval theories, and above all into the notable fortunes of the Codex within the sciences of astronomy, water, and the history of the earth, opening a new field of research into the impact of Leonardo as a scientist after his death.

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Book SynopsisThe power of images to represent the unseeable: stunning visualizations of science, from the microscopic to the incredibly vast.We live among patterns of delicate beauty and exquisite chaos that our eyes can’t detect; we are surrounded by invisible particles and shifting fields of matter that permeate all of space. Our very cells are intricate molecular machines, and the story of our origins stretches back through an unimaginable amount of time. How can we see the richness of what lies beyond our sensory perception? Scientists have developed visualization tools that can make the invisible visible. This bountifully illustrated book demonstrates the power of images to represent the unseeable, offering stunning visualizations of science that range from the microscopic to the incredibly vast. With more than 200 color images and an engaging text by leading science writer Jack Challoner, Seeing Science explains and illustrates the techniques by which

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Book SynopsisA remarkable behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary people, meticulous research, and driving passions that make London’s Natural History Museum one of the world’s greatest institutions.In an elegant and illuminating narrative, Richard Fortey takes his readers to a place where only a few privileged scientists, curators, and research specialists have been—the hallowed halls that hold the permanent collection of the Natural History Museum. Replete with fossils, jewels, rare plants, and exotic species, Fortey’s walk through offers an intimate view of many of the premiere scientific accomplishments of the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Like looking into the mind of mankind and all the fascinating discoveries, ideas, and accomplishments that reside there, Fortey’s tour is utterly entertaining from first to last.

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Book SynopsisClear and concise explanations of the development of theories explaining physical phenomena.

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Book SynopsisGenerations of practical and ingenious Maritimers have given the word great things. Since the mid-nineteenth century, scientists have fanned out into the world from colleges and universities that are among the oldest in North America. Great Maritime Achievers in Science and Technology brings together the achievements of more than 30 of these trail-blazing scientists and inventors, many of whom gained national and international prominence in the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth. Among those profiled in the book are Grace Annie Lockhart, the first woman in the British Empire to earn a university science degree; Charles Fenerty, who discovered how to make paper out of wood; Abraham Gesner, who invented kerosene and fathered the petroleum industry; and others whose practical, yet creative minds helped change the course of Canada''s scientific history.Trade Review"A welcome addition to the study of regional history in Atlantic Canada and contributes greatly to our understanding of the 19th and early 20th century's scientific breakthroughs in the Maritimes. It is hoped that a copy of Great Maritime Achievers will appear on bookshelves in all schools throughout the region." * Times & Transcript *

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Book SynopsisThis volume of the definitive edition of Charles Darwin's letters provides texts of more than 700 letters Darwin wrote and received in 1881. Darwin published The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms and reflected on reactions to his previous book, The Power of Movement in Plants.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations; List of Letters; Introduction; Acknowledgments; List of Provenances; Note on Editorial Policy; Darwin/Wedgwood Genealogy; Abbreviations and Symbols; The Correspondence; Appendixes: I. Translations; II. Chronology; III. Diplomas; IV. Presentation List for Earthworms; V. Reviews of Earthworms; Manuscript Alterations and Comments; Biographical Register and Index to Correspondents; Bibliography; Notes on Manuscript Sources; Index.

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Book SynopsisDuring the Cold War, the United States conducted atmospheric tests of nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific. The total explosive yield of these tests was 108 megatons, equivalent to the detonation of one Hiroshima bomb per day over nineteen years. These tests, particularly Castle Bravo, the largest one, had tragic consequences, including the irradiation of innocent people and the permanent displacement of many native Marshallese. Keith M. Parsons and Robert Zaballa tell the story of the development and testing of thermonuclear weapons and the effects of these tests on their victims and on the popular and intellectual culture. These events are also situated in their Cold War context and explained in terms of the prevailing hopes, fears, and beliefs of that age. In particular, the narrative highlights the obsessions and priorities of top American officials, such as Lewis L. Strauss, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.Trade Review'Philosopher Keith M. Parsons and physicist Robert Zaballa have teamed up not only to write a brilliant narrative of the nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, with a focus on the events experienced by the participants, but also a thoughtful meditation on contrasting historical claims, endorsing the ones that seem most reasonable to them.' Joseph M. Siracusa, The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Melbourne, Australia, and co-author of A History of U.S. Nuclear Testing and Its Influence on Nuclear Thought, 1945–1963'The authors have written a highly-readable but also technically well-informed account of a time thankfully now passed - the era of atmospheric nuclear testing. It seems especially relevant today, when some advocate a return to nuclear tests by the superpowers.' Gregg Herken, author of Brotherhood of the Bomb: The Tangled Lives and Loyalties of Robert Oppenheimer, Ernest Lawrence, and Edward Teller'Parsons and Raballa's multidisciplinary contribution provides a valuable reading of the Cold War's impact on the Marshall Islanders with a largely non-judgemental analysis of the key factors at play.' Roy Smith, Journal of New Zealand & Pacific StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction. Sunrise in the West: snow in the tropics; 1. Operation crossroads: the World's first nuclear disaster; 2. The coming of the 'Super'; 3. Runaway bomb; 4. The victims of Bravo; 5. Monsters and movements: the cultural 'Fallout' of nuclear testing; 6. Bikini postmortem I: public perceptions and official obsessions; 7. Bikini postmortem II: nuclear policy and nuclear tests; Epilogue. Back to Bikini?; Appendix 1. Ultimate weapons; Appendix 2. Radiation exposure, dosage, and its biomedical effects; Notes; Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisFrom contraception to cloning and pregnancy to populations, reproduction presents urgent challenges today. This field-defining history synthesizes a vast amount of scholarship to take the long view. Spanning from antiquity to the present day, the book focuses on the Mediterranean, western Europe, North America and their empires. It combines history of science, technology and medicine with social, cultural and demographic accounts. Ranging from the most intimate experiences to planetary policy, it tells new stories and revises received ideas. An international team of scholars asks how modern ''reproduction'' - an abstract process of perpetuating living organisms - replaced the old ''generation'' - the active making of humans and beasts, plants and even minerals. Striking illustrations invite readers to explore artefacts, from an ancient Egyptian fertility figurine to the announcement of the first test-tube baby. Authoritative and accessible, Reproduction offers students and non-specialiTrade Review'A fascinating work of breath taking ambition. It is certain to become a key point of reference for scholars working in a wide range of disciplines.' Sally Sheldon, FAcSS, University of Kent'This ambitious and extraordinarily well-executed volume offers new and rich insights into the history of reproduction from the ancient world to the modern period. Drawing on the best scholarship, it provides a compendium, a stimulating reframing of the field, and a state-of-the-art guide to further research.' Hilary Marland, University of Warwick'This is the most ambitious and comprehensive treatise on reproduction that has ever been attempted within the compass of a single volume. It is challenging to think of a perspective that has not been addressed. The impressive range of contributions and illustrations should guarantee the book a very wide appeal.' Sir Richard Gardner, FRS, Emeritus Royal Society Research Professor'A milestone in reproduction studies, this magnum opus will be invaluable to scholars from multiple disciplines as both resource and inspiration for ambitious projects and innovative approaches. At once dense and refreshing, it mobilizes efforts of superb scholars to bring us up-to-date historically, transnationally and transculturally, powerfully demonstrating the centrality of reproduction in human life.' Adele E. Clarke, Professor Emerita of Sociology and History of Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco'This remarkably wide-ranging and lavishly illustrated history takes in everything from 'phallic fertility in the Ancient Near East and Egypt' and 'women and doctors in Ancient Greece' to population in an era of climate change, artificial fertilisation and globalisation. Among countless other topics, the dozens of contributors explore astrological medicine; our developing understanding of both 'generation' and 'reproduction'; ignorance and infertility; hormones, prenatal diagnosis and pregnancy testing with frogs; even Aristotle's strange theory that hyenas are hermaphrodite. The result is a stunning and scholarly overview of one of the central aspects of human life.' Times Higher Education'… [a] studious, insightful brainstorm of research and revelation into an often sensitive topic. Highly recommended, especially for college and university library World History and Social Issues collections.' Library Bookwatch'It is hard to do justice to a book of such size, complexity and range … In this project, an international group of scholars has combined to produce what has turned into an authoritative, impressive volume.' Anne Crowther, Times Literary Supplement'By looking at the history of generation and reproduction across such a large chronological scale, such a large thematic scope (from egg to population), and in such a variety of geographical spaces, Reproduction allows us to better understand the complexity of our current world and opens up new ways of thinking about sexuality and ways of procreating … It also equips us intellectually to reflect on current issues surrounding reproduction and to develop a critical attitude toward contemporary developments in this domain. Moreover, Reproduction provides us with an excellent pedagogical tool, which is likely to help us to renew and refresh our teaching in the history of the life sciences and medicine. No doubt, this book constitutes a large and rich source of texts that will be relevant to teach and trigger discussions during seminar readings.' Marion Thomas, H-Net'The scholarship throughout is at the highest level, the writing is engaging and informative, and the volume is lavishly illustrated … As a single-volume history of reproduction, Reproduction could not be better. It is sure to become a valuable resource for anyone engaged with the history of sexuality.' Ian Frederick Moulton, Journal of the History of Sexuality'While illustrations are found throughout the book, the inclusion of exhibits in Reproduction is one of its greatest strengths … Reproduction … include[s] … a remarkable range of subjects from an impressive group of scholars. The editors have deftly organized this material, which ranges over such a long timeframe, into a coherent whole …' R. Allen Shotwell, Early Science and Medicine'Reproduction builds a new synthesis of how Europeans have understood the production and renewal of life. Of particular note is the complex interweaving of the contributors' collective arguments; by engaging with each other's work, the chapters form a set of discussions where new connections and contrasts can be found beyond those normally developed in studies of more limited historical and geographical scope… Triangulating the chapters with their illustrations and the free-standing object exhibits allows readers to build complex paths through the narrative of Western attitudes to birth, reproduction and population. In sum, Reproduction is a sophisticated and comprehensive work that simultaneously summarises a generation's work in the history of science and, by the very fact of its synthesis, breaks new ground. The editors are to be thanked for the scale of their ambition for this project as is the publisher for honouring that ambition by the generous production standards the book embodies. Reproduction will become a standard work of reference but should also become a core teaching text for advanced undergraduate courses in medical history, the history of population and gender studies.' Robert J. Mayhew, Journal of Historical Geography'Reproduction is an encyclopaedic book that is not an encyclopaedia; it is a great attempt to return to the ambitious projects of the longue durée and to tackle them from the multidisciplinary perspective of total history. A book recommended for students of the history of science, but also for professionals concerned with reproduction today.' Raúl Velasco Morgado, Dynamis'It is difficult to do justice to Reproduction's utterly unparalleled scale and ambition, and, consequently, it is difficult to avoid bad puns, for this truly is a seminal volume. It is a hugely impressive achievement. Reproduction provides exceptional entry points for students and non-specialists while setting dozens of specialist research agendas as well as some big ones.' Zubin Mistry, Gender & History'The exhibits provide much more accessible material for teaching … graduate students … will find plenty of inspiration and useful bibliographic materials, and scholars who teach in the area will want this collection on their bookshelves. The collection would be of particular use to modernists who want to beef up their knowledge of premodern 'generation' to enhance their research and supplement their teaching.' Lara Freidenfelds, History of Science, Technology, and MedicineTable of ContentsList of colour exhibits; List of illustrations; List of contributors; Acknowledgements; Notes on the frontispieces; Introduction; 1. Reproduction in history Nick Hopwood, Rebecca Flemming and Lauren Kassell; Part I. Inventing Generation: Introduction to Part I Rebecca Flemming; 2. Phallic fertility in the Ancient Near East and Egypt Stephanie Lynn Budin; 3. Women and doctors in ancient Greece Helen King; 4. Animal and plant generation in classical antiquity Laurence M. V. Totelin; 5. States and populations in the classical world Rebecca Flemming; 6. The ancient family and the law Tim Parkin; 7. Galen's generations of seeds Rebecca Flemming; 8. Debating the soul in late antiquity Marie-Hélène Congourdeau; Part II. Generation Reborn and Reformed: Introduction to Part II Lauren Kassell; 9. Generation in medieval Islamic medicine Nahyan Fancy; 10. The multitude in later medieval thought Peter Biller; 11. Managing childbirth and fertility in medieval Europe Katharine Park; 12. Formed fetuses and healthy children in scholastic theology, medicine and law Maaike van der Lugt; 13. Generation between script and print Peter Murray Jones; 14. Innate heat, radical moisture and generation Gianna Pomata; 15. Pictures and analogies in the anatomy of generation Karin Ekholm; 16. Fruitful bodies and astrological medicine Lauren Kassell; 17. Family resemblance in the old regime Silvia De Renzi; 18. The emergence of population Philip Kreager; 19. Generation in the Ottoman world Miri Shefer-Mossensohn and Rebecca Flemming; Part III. Inventing Reproduction: Introduction to Part III Nick Hopwood; 20. The keywords 'generation' and 'reproduction' Nick Hopwood; 21. Linnaeus and the love lives of plants Staffan Müller-Wille; 22. Man-midwifery revisited Mary E. Fissell; 23. Biopolitics and the invention of population Andrea Rusnock; 24. Marriage and fertility in different household systems Richard M. Smith; 25. Colonialism and the emergence of racial theories Renato G. Mazzolini; 26. Talking origins James A. Secord; Part IV. Modern Reproduction: Introduction to Part IV Nick Hopwood; 27. Breeding farm animals and humans Sarah Wilmot; 28. Eggs and sperm as germ cells Florence Vienne; 29. Movements to separate sex and reproduction Lesley A. Hall; 30. Fertility transitions and sexually transmitted infections Simon Szreter; 31. Modern infertility Christina Benninghaus; 32. Modern ignorance Kate Fisher; 33. Imperial encounters Philippa Levine; Part V. Reproduction Centre Stage: Introduction to Part V Nick Hopwood; 34. World population from eugenics to climate change Alison Bashford; 35. Sex hormones, pharmacy and the reproductive sciences Jean-Paul Gaudillière: 36. Technologies of contraception and abortion Jesse Olszynko-Gryn; 37. Hospital birth Salim Al-Gailani; 38. Prenatal diagnosis, surveillance and risk Ilana Löwy; 39. Artificial fertilization Nick Hopwood; 40. Modern law and regulation Martin H. Johnson and Nick Hopwood; 41. Sex, gender and babies John Forrester; 42. Feminism and reproduction Sarah Franklin; 43. Globalization Nick Hopwood; Epilogue; 44. Concluding reflections Nick Hopwood, Rebecca Flemming and Lauren Kassell; Select bibliography; Index; Colour exhibits Rune Nyord, Annetta Alexandridis, Eleanor Robson, Fay Glinister, Jessica Hughes, Ralph Jackson, Véronique Dasen, Margot E. Fassler, Gabriella Zuccolin, Lauren Kassell, Lea T. Olsan, Patricia Simons, Jennifer Spinks, Karin Ekholm, Sandra Cavallo, Rina Knoeff, Lianne McTavish, Lisa Forman Cody, Mary Terrall, Lucia Dacome, Ludmilla Jordanova, Nick Hopwood, Rebecca Flemming, Mary E. Fissell, James A. Secord, Siân Pooley, James M. Edmonson, Paul Weindling, Jenny Bangham, Martina Schlünder, Jesse Olszynko-Gryn, Ellen Herman, Solveig Jülich, Wendy Kline, Patrick Ellis, Christina Brandt, Nick Hopwood, Tatjana Buklijas, Jessica Hughes and Rebecca Flemming.

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Book SynopsisBeginning in the 1870s, migrant groups from Russia''s steppes settled in the similar environment of the Great Plains. Many were Mennonites. They brought plants, in particular grain and fodder crops, trees and shrubs, as well as weeds. Following their example, and drawing on the expertise of émigré Russian-Jewish scientists, the US Department of Agriculture introduced more plants, agricultural sciences, especially soil science; and methods of planting trees to shelter the land from the wind. By the 1930s, many of the grain varieties in the Great Plains had been imported from the steppes. The fertile soil was classified using the Russian term ''chernozem''. The US Forest Service was planting shelterbelts using techniques pioneered in the steppes. And, tumbling across the plains was an invasive weed from the steppes: tumbleweed. Based on archival research in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan, this book explores the unexpected Russian roots of Great Plains agriculture.Trade Review'A fresh and significant new perspective on the perception and understanding of the Great Plains of North America in the light of scientific research carried out far away, on the other side of the planet, the Russian steppe country, which turns out to have had many surprising linkages with its North American counterpart.' Donald Worster, Distinguished Foreign Expert, Renmin University of China'The American Steppes is a heartening exemplar of transnational history done rightly and responsibly. David Moon has the reach to comprehend the complicated and cumulative processes by which Russian experience contributed to wheat culture, soil science, and shelterbelt establishment on the plains, and he does it with depth, through archival research that exhibits rich layers, like chernozem soils.' Tom Isern, Professor of History and University Distinguished Professor, North Dakota State University'David Moon's terrific book demonstrates how deeply prior pioneering experience and scientific study in the Russian steppes influenced farming on the North American Great Plains (or, as Moon so appropriately dubs them, 'the American Steppes'). This welcome corrective to generations of Great Plains scholarship permanently alters our telling of an iconic American environmental history.' Geoff Cunfer, University of Saskatchewan'This remarkable, incredibly well-researched book reminds readers that national differences are outweighed not just by similarities but by direct connections as well … Highly recommended.' T. P. Bowman, Choice' …Moon's study is eminently convincing. He makes careful, evidence based connections, though after reading it is tempting to search for Russian influences elsewhere in the social realism of the Newton sculpture for instance. One admirable feature of Moon's text is his clear delineation of the book's aims. a coherent read. … The American Steppes is an important entry into the growing body of literature that positions the American West within global histories. Aside from the obvious audiences of environmental and agricultural historians, The American Steppes will be of interest to anyone looking for a transnational study that does not devolve into mere comparisons. Finally, Moon's book will appeal to Plains people who are interested in a more nuanced story of their Russian roots.' Michaela Rife, Agricultural History Review'… with this rich, stimulating study, Moon had done much to push historians of Russia and the United States to think more comparatively and to question entrenched notions of Russian and American uniqueness.' Sarah Cameron, The Russian Review'the work is a masterpiece.' Royden Loewen, Journal of Mennonite StudiesTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Contexts: 1. Settlement; 2. Barriers; 3. Bridges; Part II. Transfers: 4. Wheat; 5. Soil science I; 6. Soil science II; 7. Shelterbelts I; 8. Shelterbelts II; 9. Tumbleweed; Conclusion; List of archival collections cited; Index.

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Book SynopsisScientific thinking has long been linked to music theory and instrument making, yet the profound and often surprising intersections between the sciences and opera during the long nineteenth century are here explored for the first time. These touch on a wide variety of topics, including vocal physiology, theories of listening and sensory communication, technologies of theatrical machinery and discourses of biological degeneration. Taken together, the chapters reveal an intertwined cultural history that extends from backstage hydraulics to drawing-room hypnotism, and from laryngoscopy to theatrical aeronautics. Situated at the intersection of opera studies and the history of science, the book therefore offers a novel and illuminating set of case studies, of a kind that will appeal to historians of both science and opera, and of European culture more generally from the French Revolution to the end of the Victorian period.Trade Review'There is an interesting discussion of whether opera was beneficial or dangerous for the mentally ill. This exploration of the intersection of two important aspects of 19th-century Western life will interest scientists and musicians alike.' R. Pitts, Choice'Over the course of the essays, all of which are excellent, the book weaves a very solid network of living objects, which resonate with each other from chapter to chapter and bear witness to the inextricable entanglement between the operatic stage and the scientific stage in nineteenth-century opera, echoes of which are still audible today.' Isabelle Moindrot, Revue de musicologieTable of Contents1. Introduction: the laboratory and the stage David Trippett and Benjamin Walton; Part I. Voices: 2. Pneumotypes: Jean de Reszke's high pianissimos and the occult sciences of breathing James Q. Davies; 3. Vocal culture in the age of laryngoscopy Benjamin Steege; 4. Operatic fantasies in early nineteenth-century psychiatry Carmel Raz; 5. Opera and hypnosis: Victor Maurel's experiments in suggestion with Verdi's Otello Céline Frigau Manning; Part II. Ears: 6. Hearing space in the music of Hector Berlioz Julia Kursell; 7. From distant sounds to Aeolian ears: Ernst Kapp's auditory prosthesis David Trippett; 8. Wagner, hearing loss, and the urban soundscape of late nineteenth-century Germany James Deaville; Part III. Technologies: 9. Science, technology and love in late eighteenth-century opera Deirdre Loughridge; 10. Technological phantoms of the opéra Benjamin Walton; 11. Circuit listening Ellen Lockhart; Part IV. Bodies: 12. Excelsior as mass ornament: the reproduction of gesture Gavin Williams; 13. Automata, physiology and opera Myles Jackson; 14. Wagnerian manipulation: Bayreuth and the sciences of the mind James Kennaway; 15. Unsound seeds Alexander Rehding.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is part of the definitive edition of letters written by and to Charles Darwin, the most celebrated naturalist of the nineteenth century. Notes and appendixes put these fascinating and wide-ranging letters in context, making the letters accessible to both scholars and general readers. Darwin depended on correspondence to collect data from all over the world, and to discuss his emerging ideas with scientific colleagues, many of whom he never met in person. The letters are published chronologically: Volume 23 includes letters from 1875, the year in which Darwin wrote and published Insectivorous plants, a botanical work that was a great success with the reading public, and started writing Cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. The volume contains an appendix on the 1875 anti-vivisection debates, with which Darwin was closely involved, giving evidence before a Royal Commission on the subject.Trade ReviewReviews of earlier volumes: 'Nothing in the recent history of science quite tops the achievement of the volumes of Darwin correspondence. It is our own Human Genome Project.' Annals of Science'… a superb series … beautifully produced, beautifully readable, efficiently indexed, supportively but not gossipily annotated.' The Times Literary Supplement'Every now and then … publishing and academe work together to produce books so splendid that it seems ungrateful not to acquire them: this promises to be another such.' The Guardian'… this authoritative work is a model of scholarship in both its comprehensiveness and supporting documentation which provides a rich source of background, biographical and bibliographical detail.' The Naturalist'These volumes are indeed treasures of high scholarship … every real science library needs this series.' Trends in Ecology and Evolution'… slowly but surely we are getting an unbelievable source of information on one of the greatest of scientists who ever lived and thought and worked. Who knows what treasures future generations will uncover? For now, as always, the edition is exemplary, with huge amounts of pertinent information in the notes and with amazingly accurate transcriptions of Darwin's appalling handwriting. A true monument of scholarship. My fervent hope is that I shall live to see the completion.' Michael Ruse, The Quarterly Review of Biology'… this latest volume of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin shares the same high production values, attention to detail and scholarly scrupulousness evident in all its predecessors. Amongst the six appendices, for example, are a list of all the periodical reviews of Insectivorous Plants and a hugely valuable account of Darwin's dealings with the question of vivisection, including the text of his testimony to the Royal Commission on the vexed issue.' Gowan Dawson, British Journal for the History of ScienceTable of ContentsList of illustrations; List of letters; Introduction; Acknowledgments; List of provenances; Note on editorial policy; Darwin/Wedgwood genealogy; Abbreviations and symbols; The correspondence; Appendix I. Translations; Appendix II. Chronology; Appendix III. Diplomas; Appendix IV. Presentation lists for Insectivorous plants and Climbing plants 2d ed.; Appendix V. Reviews of Insectivorous plants; Appendix VI. Darwin and vivisection; Manuscript alterations and comments; Biographical register and index to correspondents; Bibliography; Notes on manuscript sources; Index.

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Book SynopsisFollowing a long-term international collaboration between leaders in cosmology and the philosophy of science, this volume addresses foundational questions at the limit of science across these disciplines, questions raised by observational and theoretical progress in modern cosmology. Space missions have mapped the Universe up to its early instants, opening up questions on what came before the Big Bang, the nature of space and time, and the quantum origin of the Universe. As the foundational volume of an emerging academic discipline, experts from relevant fields lay out the fundamental problems of contemporary cosmology and explore the routes toward finding possible solutions. Written for graduates and researchers in physics and philosophy, particular efforts are made to inform academics from other fields, as well as the educated public, who wish to understand our modern vision of the Universe, related philosophical questions, and the significant impacts on scientific methodology.Trade Review'The editors of this volume boldly announce that this collection of essays by an international group of philosophers and physicists 'marks a beginning' of 'a body of philosophical literature engaged with contemporary cosmology …' Currently, cosmology is at the pinnacle of innovation; its rapid development requires engagement from physicists and philosophers of physics on foundational issues. What is speculative or meta-cosmology today, soon becomes the cosmology of tomorrow as theory struggles to keep up with discovery. Thus, the book begins with a section entitled 'Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology' and proceeds to delve further into more specialized topics in cosmological structures, gravity, quantum foundations, and 'methodological and philosophical issues'. It should be noted that the quality of the volume's essays varies, as well as the level of technical difficulty; some chapters are remarkably lucid while others are comprehensible only to specialists.' L. B. McHenry, Choice'This volume, based on a series of workshops and a conference, brings together contributions by cosmologists and philosophers. … many readers will probably use certain chapters as jumping-off points for deeper study, helped by the copious references. At the same time, the chapters are long enough to provide more than a cursory introduction to the topic at hand. Despite the fact that - or perhaps because - cosmology is now a mainly data-driven science, the philosophy of cosmology has become an active but not yet mature field; this book provides a good introduction.' Phillip Helbig, The Observatory'What is remarkable about this collection of chapters is that it offers a dialogue between two scientific communities, cosmologists/high energy physicists and philosophers of science, that unfortunately do not usually interact enough with each other. … It is not possible to do justice to the number of interesting ideas and proposals presented in this very rich book in a short review. … In summary, this book presents a collection of chapters written by some of the foremost experts in their respective fields. The most interesting of these chapters are those written by scientists who truly tried to build a bridge between philosophy of science and cosmology. Overall, this book is well worth reading as it contains many fascinating perspectives and ideas presented in a very accessible manner for the different communities involved in this project.' Xavier Calmet, Springer NatureTable of ContentsPart I. Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology: 1. The domain of cosmology and the testing of cosmological theories George F. R. Ellis; 2. Black holes, cosmology and the passage of time: three problems at the limits of science Bernard Carr; 3. Moving boundaries? – comments on the relationship between philosophy and cosmology Claus Beisbart; 4. On the question why there exists something rather than nothing Roderich Tumulka; Part II. Structures in the Universe and the Structure of Modern Cosmology: 5. Some generalities about generality John D. Barrow; 6. Emergent structures of effective field theories Jean-Philippe Uzan; 7. Cosmological structure formation Joel R. Primack; 8. Formation of galaxies Joseph Silk; Part III. Foundations of Cosmology: Gravity and the Quantum: 9. The observer strikes back James Hartle and Thomas Hertog; 10. Testing inflation Chris Smeenk; 11. Why Boltzmann brains do not fluctuate into existence from the de Sitter vacuum Kimberly K. Boddy, Sean M. Carroll and Jason Pollack; 12. Holographic inflation revised Tom Banks; 13. Progress and gravity: overcoming divisions between general relativity and particle physics and between physics and HPS J. Brian Pitts; Part IV. Quantum Foundations and Quantum Gravity: 14. Is time's arrow perspectival? Carlo Rovelli; 15. Relational quantum cosmology Francesca Vidotto; 16. Cosmological ontology and epistemology Don N. Page; 17. Quantum origin of cosmological structure and dynamical reduction theories Daniel Sudarsky; 18. Towards a novel approach to semi-classical gravity Ward Struyve; Part V. Methodological and Philosophical Issues: 19. Limits of time in cosmology Svend E. Rugh and Henrik Zinkernagel; 20. Self-locating priors and cosmological measures Cian Dorr and Frank Arntzenius; 21. On probability and cosmology: inference beyond data? Martin Sahlén; 22. Testing the multiverse: Bayes, fine-tuning and typicality Luke A. Barnes; 23. A new perspective on Einstein's philosophy of cosmology Cormac O'Raifeartaigh; 24. The nature of the past hypothesis David Wallace; 25. Big and small David Albert.

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Book SynopsisThe relationship between humans and domestic animals has changed in dramatic ways over the ages, and those transitions have had profound consequences for all parties involved. As societies evolve, the selective pressures that shape domestic populations also change. Some animals retain close relationships with humans, but many do not. Those who establish residency in the wild, free from direct human control, are technically neither domestic nor wild: they are feral. If we really want to understand humanity''s complex relationship with domestic animals, then we cannot simply ignore the ones who went feral. This is especially true in the American South, where social and cultural norms have facilitated and sustained large populations of feral animals for hundreds of years. Feral Animals in the American South retells southern history from this new perspective of feral animals.Trade Review'Abraham H. Gibson's Feral Animals in the American South: An Evolutionary History tells a fascinating story of animals in the American South and, as importantly, a fascinating story of humans – free and enslaved – in the American South. One comes away wiser and in many respects sadder about our relationships with animals and at least as much about our relationships with each other. This is a very important book that is relevant to many scholars in varying fields.' Michael Ruse, editor of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Darwin and Evolutionary Thought'Abraham Gibson's Feral Animals in the American South is an ambitious work unveiling the comparative feral histories of pigs, dogs, and horses. … Those interested in teaching, researching, or simply learning about such processes should read Gibson's book. I expect it will be required reading for scholars and students engaging in the cross-section of environmental and animal studies.' Tyler Parry, Environmental HistoryTable of Contents1. The trouble with ferality: domestication as coevolution and the nature of broken symbioses; 2. Making and breaking acquaintances: the origins of wildness, domestication, and ferality in prehistoric Eurasia; 3. When ferality reigned: establishing an open range in the colonial South; 4. Nascent domestication initiatives and their effects on ferality: claiming dominion in the antebellum South; 5. Anthropogenic improvement and assaults on ferality: divergent fates in the industrializing South; 6. Everything in its right place: wild, domestic, and feral populations in the modern South; Epilogue: cultivating ferality in the Anthropocene.

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Book SynopsisThe relationship between theory and practice, in other words between norms indicated in a text and their extra-textual application, is one of the most fascinating issues in the history and theory of science. Yet this aspect has often been taken for granted and never explored in depth. The essays contained in this volume provide a complex and nuanced discussion of this relationship as it emerges in ancient Greek and Roman culture in a number of fields, such as agriculture, architecture, the art of love, astronomy, ethics, mechanics, medicine, pharmacology. The main focus is on the textuality of processes of the transmission of knowledge and its application in various fields. Given that a text always contains complex and destabilising aspects that cannot be reduced to the specific subject matter it discusses, to what extent can and do ancient texts support extra-textual applicability?Table of Contents1. From words to acts? Philip van der Eijk and Marco Formisano; 2. The poetics of knowledge Marco Formisano; 3. Machines on paper: from words to acts in ancient mechanics Markus Asper; 4. Si quis voluerit: Vitruvius on architecture as 'the art of the possible' Elisa Romano; 5. Caesar's Rhine bridge and its feasibility in Giovanni Giocondo's Expositio pontis Ronny Kaiser; 6. From words to acts: on the applicability of Hippocratic therapy Pilar Pérez Cañizares; 7. Naso magister erat – sed cui bono? On not taking the poet's teaching seriously Alison Sharrock; 8. From technē to kakotechnia: use and abuse of ancient cosmetic texts Laurence Totelin; 9. From discourses to handbook: the Encheiridion of Epictetus as a practical guide to life Gerard Boter; 10. The problem of practical applicability in Ptolemy's Geography Klaus Geus; 11. Living according to the seasons – the power of parapēgmata Gerd Grasshoff; 12. Auctoritas in the garden: Columella's poetic strategy in De re rustica 10 Christiane Reitz; 13. The generous text: animal intuition, human knowledge, and written transmission in Pliny's books on medicine Brooke Holmes; 14. From descriptions to acts: the paradoxical animals of the ancients from a cognitive perspective Pietro Li Causi.

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Book SynopsisThis volume is part of the definitive edition of letters written by and to Charles Darwin, the most celebrated naturalist of the nineteenth century. Notes and appendixes put these fascinating and wide-ranging letters in context, making the letters accessible to both scholars and general readers. Darwin depended on correspondence to collect data from all over the world, and to discuss his emerging ideas with scientific colleagues, many of whom he never met in person. The letters are published chronologically: volume 24 includes letters from 1876, the year in which Darwin published Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom, and started writing Forms of Flowers. In 1876, Darwin''s daughter-in-law, Amy, died shortly after giving birth to a son, Bernard Darwin, an event that devastated the family. The volume includes a supplement of 182 letters from earlier years, including a newly discovered collection of letters from William Darwin, Darwin''s eldest son.Table of ContentsList of illustrations; List of letters; Introduction; Acknowledgments; List of provenances; Note on editorial policy; Darwin/Wedgwood genealogy; Abbreviations and symbols; The correspondence; Appendix I. Translations; Appendix II. Chronology; Appendix III. Presentation lists for Variation, 2nd edition, Cross and Self Fertilisation, and Geological Observations, 2nd edition; Appendix IV. Reviews of Cross and Self Fertilisation; Appendix V. Letters regarding the HMS Challenger specimens; Manuscript alterations and comments; Biographical register and index to correspondents; Bibliography; Notes on manuscript sources; Index.

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Book SynopsisFinding our Place in the Solar System gives a detailed account of how the Earth was displaced from its traditional position at the center of the universe to be recognized as one of several planets orbiting the Sun under the influence of a universal gravitational force. The transition from the ancient geocentric worldview to a modern understanding of planetary motion, often called the Copernican Revolution, is one of the great intellectual achievements of humankind. This book provides a deep yet accessible explanation of the scientific disputes over our place in the solar system and the work of the great scientists who helped settle them. Readers will come away knowing not just that the Earth orbits the Sun, but why we believe that it does so. The Copernican Revolution also provides an excellent case study of what science is and how it works.Trade Review'The story of understanding our Solar System is essentially a story of how science works. Finding Our Place in the Solar System connects the dots between observations of the movements of the Sun, the Moon and the stars on the celestial sphere to the scientific revolution brought about by Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and ultimately Newton. Every chapter describes the key steps that led towards our current understanding of our Solar System, but also reflects on what these steps can tell us about how science in general works. The book, aimed at non-science-majors and the general public alike, motivates a very timely discussion on the dynamic and ever-changing nature of science.' Marios Karouzos, Nature Astronomy'… at the end of each section [is] a short chapter titled Reflections on science, a sort of philosophy of science light … they are actually very well done and add, in my opinion, a lot to the value of the book as a teaching text … Timberlake writes well and lucidly. His text is easy to read and his explanations are clear and straightforward. He covers the material well and I on the whole would thoroughly endorse his book as an excellent textbook and introduction to the history of European astronomy … Timberlake's book is an excellent entry level introduction to the history of European mathematical astronomy as well as serving as an introduction to the process of science for non scientists and anybody looking to teach themselves or looking for a textbook for an advanced school class or a college level course should definitely consider using this volume …' Thony C, The Renaissance Mathematicus'… the authors' ability to present complex scientific concepts in the history of astronomy and physics clearly and concisely is invaluable for undergraduate teaching. The figures, diagrams, and appendixes in the book enhance the clarity of their presentation, which was already impressive. This text will be very useful for those teaching the history of ancient, medieval, or early modern science. Even for those whose pedagogy differs markedly from that of Timberlake and Wallace, Finding Our Place in the Solar System could serve as a useful complement to the main themes of a course.' Nicholas A. Jacobson, IsisTable of ContentsPreface; 1. Introduction: mysterious skies; 2. Two spheres: modeling the heavens and the Earth; 3. Wanderers: the Moon and the planets; 4. An Earth-centered cosmos: astronomy and cosmology from Eudoxus to Regiomontanus; 5. Moving the Earth: the revolutions of Copernicus; 6. Instruments of reform: Tycho's restoration of observational astronomy; 7. Physical causes: Kepler's new astronomy; 8. Seeing beyond Aristotle: Galileo's controversies; 9. The system of the world: Newton's universal physics; 10. Confirming Copernicus: evidence for Earth's motions; Appendix A. Mathematical details; Notes; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisFrom contraception to cloning and pregnancy to populations, reproduction presents urgent challenges today. This field-defining history synthesizes a vast amount of scholarship to take the long view. Spanning from antiquity to the present day, the book focuses on the Mediterranean, western Europe, North America and their empires. It combines history of science, technology and medicine with social, cultural and demographic accounts. Ranging from the most intimate experiences to planetary policy, it tells new stories and revises received ideas. An international team of scholars asks how modern ''reproduction'' - an abstract process of perpetuating living organisms - replaced the old ''generation'' - the active making of humans and beasts, plants and even minerals. Striking illustrations invite readers to explore artefacts, from an ancient Egyptian fertility figurine to the announcement of the first test-tube baby. Authoritative and accessible, Reproduction offers students and non-specialiTrade Review'A fascinating work of breath taking ambition. It is certain to become a key point of reference for scholars working in a wide range of disciplines.' Sally Sheldon, FAcSS, University of Kent'This ambitious and extraordinarily well-executed volume offers new and rich insights into the history of reproduction from the ancient world to the modern period. Drawing on the best scholarship, it provides a compendium, a stimulating reframing of the field, and a state-of-the-art guide to further research.' Hilary Marland, University of Warwick'This is the most ambitious and comprehensive treatise on reproduction that has ever been attempted within the compass of a single volume. It is challenging to think of a perspective that has not been addressed. The impressive range of contributions and illustrations should guarantee the book a very wide appeal.' Sir Richard Gardner, FRS, Emeritus Royal Society Research Professor'A milestone in reproduction studies, this magnum opus will be invaluable to scholars from multiple disciplines as both resource and inspiration for ambitious projects and innovative approaches. At once dense and refreshing, it mobilizes efforts of superb scholars to bring us up-to-date historically, transnationally and transculturally, powerfully demonstrating the centrality of reproduction in human life.' Adele E. Clarke, Professor Emerita of Sociology and History of Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco'This remarkably wide-ranging and lavishly illustrated history takes in everything from 'phallic fertility in the Ancient Near East and Egypt' and 'women and doctors in Ancient Greece' to population in an era of climate change, artificial fertilisation and globalisation. Among countless other topics, the dozens of contributors explore astrological medicine; our developing understanding of both 'generation' and 'reproduction'; ignorance and infertility; hormones, prenatal diagnosis and pregnancy testing with frogs; even Aristotle's strange theory that hyenas are hermaphrodite. The result is a stunning and scholarly overview of one of the central aspects of human life.' Times Higher Education'… [a] studious, insightful brainstorm of research and revelation into an often sensitive topic. Highly recommended, especially for college and university library World History and Social Issues collections.' Library Bookwatch'It is hard to do justice to a book of such size, complexity and range … In this project, an international group of scholars has combined to produce what has turned into an authoritative, impressive volume.' Anne Crowther, Times Literary Supplement'By looking at the history of generation and reproduction across such a large chronological scale, such a large thematic scope (from egg to population), and in such a variety of geographical spaces, Reproduction allows us to better understand the complexity of our current world and opens up new ways of thinking about sexuality and ways of procreating … It also equips us intellectually to reflect on current issues surrounding reproduction and to develop a critical attitude toward contemporary developments in this domain. Moreover, Reproduction provides us with an excellent pedagogical tool, which is likely to help us to renew and refresh our teaching in the history of the life sciences and medicine. No doubt, this book constitutes a large and rich source of texts that will be relevant to teach and trigger discussions during seminar readings.' Marion Thomas, H-Net'The scholarship throughout is at the highest level, the writing is engaging and informative, and the volume is lavishly illustrated … As a single-volume history of reproduction, Reproduction could not be better. It is sure to become a valuable resource for anyone engaged with the history of sexuality.' Ian Frederick Moulton, Journal of the History of Sexuality'While illustrations are found throughout the book, the inclusion of exhibits in Reproduction is one of its greatest strengths … Reproduction … include[s] … a remarkable range of subjects from an impressive group of scholars. The editors have deftly organized this material, which ranges over such a long timeframe, into a coherent whole …' R. Allen Shotwell, Early Science and Medicine'Reproduction builds a new synthesis of how Europeans have understood the production and renewal of life. Of particular note is the complex interweaving of the contributors' collective arguments; by engaging with each other's work, the chapters form a set of discussions where new connections and contrasts can be found beyond those normally developed in studies of more limited historical and geographical scope… Triangulating the chapters with their illustrations and the free-standing object exhibits allows readers to build complex paths through the narrative of Western attitudes to birth, reproduction and population. In sum, Reproduction is a sophisticated and comprehensive work that simultaneously summarises a generation's work in the history of science and, by the very fact of its synthesis, breaks new ground. The editors are to be thanked for the scale of their ambition for this project as is the publisher for honouring that ambition by the generous production standards the book embodies. Reproduction will become a standard work of reference but should also become a core teaching text for advanced undergraduate courses in medical history, the history of population and gender studies.' Robert J. Mayhew, Journal of Historical Geography'Reproduction is an encyclopaedic book that is not an encyclopaedia; it is a great attempt to return to the ambitious projects of the longue durée and to tackle them from the multidisciplinary perspective of total history. A book recommended for students of the history of science, but also for professionals concerned with reproduction today.' Raúl Velasco Morgado, Dynamis'It is difficult to do justice to Reproduction's utterly unparalleled scale and ambition, and, consequently, it is difficult to avoid bad puns, for this truly is a seminal volume. It is a hugely impressive achievement. Reproduction provides exceptional entry points for students and non-specialists while setting dozens of specialist research agendas as well as some big ones.' Zubin Mistry, Gender & History'The exhibits provide much more accessible material for teaching … graduate students … will find plenty of inspiration and useful bibliographic materials, and scholars who teach in the area will want this collection on their bookshelves. The collection would be of particular use to modernists who want to beef up their knowledge of premodern 'generation' to enhance their research and supplement their teaching.' Lara Freidenfelds, History of Science, Technology, and MedicineTable of ContentsList of colour exhibits; List of illustrations; List of contributors; Acknowledgements; Notes on the frontispieces; Introduction; 1. Reproduction in history Nick Hopwood, Rebecca Flemming and Lauren Kassell; Part I. Inventing Generation: Introduction to Part I Rebecca Flemming; 2. Phallic fertility in the Ancient Near East and Egypt Stephanie Lynn Budin; 3. Women and doctors in ancient Greece Helen King; 4. Animal and plant generation in classical antiquity Laurence M. V. Totelin; 5. States and populations in the classical world Rebecca Flemming; 6. The ancient family and the law Tim Parkin; 7. Galen's generations of seeds Rebecca Flemming; 8. Debating the soul in late antiquity Marie-Hélène Congourdeau; Part II. Generation Reborn and Reformed: Introduction to Part II Lauren Kassell; 9. Generation in medieval Islamic medicine Nahyan Fancy; 10. The multitude in later medieval thought Peter Biller; 11. Managing childbirth and fertility in medieval Europe Katharine Park; 12. Formed fetuses and healthy children in scholastic theology, medicine and law Maaike van der Lugt; 13. Generation between script and print Peter Murray Jones; 14. Innate heat, radical moisture and generation Gianna Pomata; 15. Pictures and analogies in the anatomy of generation Karin Ekholm; 16. Fruitful bodies and astrological medicine Lauren Kassell; 17. Family resemblance in the old regime Silvia De Renzi; 18. The emergence of population Philip Kreager; 19. Generation in the Ottoman world Miri Shefer-Mossensohn and Rebecca Flemming; Part III. Inventing Reproduction: Introduction to Part III Nick Hopwood; 20. The keywords 'generation' and 'reproduction' Nick Hopwood; 21. Linnaeus and the love lives of plants Staffan Müller-Wille; 22. Man-midwifery revisited Mary E. Fissell; 23. Biopolitics and the invention of population Andrea Rusnock; 24. Marriage and fertility in different household systems Richard M. Smith; 25. Colonialism and the emergence of racial theories Renato G. Mazzolini; 26. Talking origins James A. Secord; Part IV. Modern Reproduction: Introduction to Part IV Nick Hopwood; 27. Breeding farm animals and humans Sarah Wilmot; 28. Eggs and sperm as germ cells Florence Vienne; 29. Movements to separate sex and reproduction Lesley A. Hall; 30. Fertility transitions and sexually transmitted infections Simon Szreter; 31. Modern infertility Christina Benninghaus; 32. Modern ignorance Kate Fisher; 33. Imperial encounters Philippa Levine; Part V. Reproduction Centre Stage: Introduction to Part V Nick Hopwood; 34. World population from eugenics to climate change Alison Bashford; 35. Sex hormones, pharmacy and the reproductive sciences Jean-Paul Gaudillière: 36. Technologies of contraception and abortion Jesse Olszynko-Gryn; 37. Hospital birth Salim Al-Gailani; 38. Prenatal diagnosis, surveillance and risk Ilana Löwy; 39. Artificial fertilization Nick Hopwood; 40. Modern law and regulation Martin H. Johnson and Nick Hopwood; 41. Sex, gender and babies John Forrester; 42. Feminism and reproduction Sarah Franklin; 43. Globalization Nick Hopwood; Epilogue; 44. Concluding reflections Nick Hopwood, Rebecca Flemming and Lauren Kassell; Select bibliography; Index; Colour exhibits Rune Nyord, Annetta Alexandridis, Eleanor Robson, Fay Glinister, Jessica Hughes, Ralph Jackson, Véronique Dasen, Margot E. Fassler, Gabriella Zuccolin, Lauren Kassell, Lea T. Olsan, Patricia Simons, Jennifer Spinks, Karin Ekholm, Sandra Cavallo, Rina Knoeff, Lianne McTavish, Lisa Forman Cody, Mary Terrall, Lucia Dacome, Ludmilla Jordanova, Nick Hopwood, Rebecca Flemming, Mary E. Fissell, James A. Secord, Siân Pooley, James M. Edmonson, Paul Weindling, Jenny Bangham, Martina Schlünder, Jesse Olszynko-Gryn, Ellen Herman, Solveig Jülich, Wendy Kline, Patrick Ellis, Christina Brandt, Nick Hopwood, Tatjana Buklijas, Jessica Hughes and Rebecca Flemming.

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Book SynopsisThe practice of weather forecasting underwent a crucial transformation in the Middle Ages. Exploring how meteorology spread and flourished from c.700–c.1600, this study reveals these dramatic changes in forecasting and how scientifically-based weather forecasting was introduced to Western Europe in the twelfth century.Trade Review'A wonderful, wide-ranging, and comprehensive study of a subject both ubiquitous and particular; the weather. Medieval Meteorology takes a broadly chronological approach in a wide sweep from the ancient world to the end of the European Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The continuities from ancient to medieval understanding of the subject are convincingly shown, alongside the critical difference brought about by the reception of works by Islamicate authors from the twelfth century onwards. There is no better place to start, for specialist scholars or general readers. Conveyed in an accessible manner, it is no less formidable in its learning for ease of style and persuasive arguments. Pick up and read.' Giles Gasper, Durham University'In this trail-blazing study, Anne Lawrence-Mathers demonstrates how 'astro-meteorology' emerged as an innovative form of rational weather prognostication out of the medieval convergence of classical, Arab-Islamic and folk knowledge. Her account of astro-meteorology's quest for precise and timely weather forecasting constitutes a deeply significant, and hitherto untold, chapter in the history of European scientific culture.' Faith Wallis, McGill University, Montreal'This excellent study deserves the attention of historians of science and medievalists.' R. E. Winn, Choice'Essential reading for anyone interested in medieval science, Medieval Meteorology demonstrates that the roots of scientific forecasting are much deeper than is usually recognized.' Jana Byars, New Books Network'As a methodical intellectual history, the monograph is impressive and timely.' Sarah Carson, IsisTable of ContentsPreface; Introduction; 1. Re-creating meteorology in the early Middle Ages: Isidore and Bede; 2. Meteorology, weather forecasting and the early-medieval Renaissance of astronomy; 3. Exploratory encounters with the work of Arab astronomers and meteorologists; 4. Meteorology, the new science of the stars, and the rise of weather forecasting; 5. The contested rise of astro-meteorology; 6. Applying the science of astro-meteorology; 7. Astro-meteorology and mechanisation; 8. Weather forecasting and the impact of print; Conclusion.

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