Popular science Books

Book SynopsisFINALIST for the Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books“This book shows that chemistry is not just relevant to life; it’s really, really interesting.”—Foreword Reviews, STARRED reviewA perfect book for readers of The Physics of Everyday Things and Storm in a TeacupHave you ever wondered why your alarm clock sends you spiraling? Or how toothpaste works on your teeth? Why do cakes and cookies sometimes turn out dry? (Hint: you may not be adding enough sugar.) In Chemistry for Breakfast, award-winning chemist and science communicator Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim reveals the amazing chemistry behind everyday things (like baking and toothpaste) and not-so-everyday things (like space travel). With a relatable, funny, and conversational style, she explains essential chemical processes everyone should know—and turns the ordinary into extraordinary.Over the course of a single day, Mai shows

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Book Synopsis‘Jauhar weaves his own personal and family story into his history of the heart…very effectively… This gives a certain dramatic tension to the book, as it tells the fascinating and rather wonderful history of cardiology.’ –Henry Marsh, New Statesman A Mail on Sunday Book of the Year The heart lies at the centre of life. For cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar it is an obsession. In this fascinating history he interweaves gripping scenes from the operating theatre with the moving tale of his family’s history of heart problems – from the death of his grandfather to the ominous signs of how he himself might die. Jauhar looks at the pioneers who risked patients’ lives and their own careers, and confronts the limits of medical technology, arguing that how we live is more important than any device or drug we may invent. Heart is the all-encompassing story of the engine of life.Trade Review‘A book of unusual depth and richness about a subject that concerns us all…Heart: A history is elegantly conceived and still more elegantly executed…Sandeep Jauhar writes with a vital, pulsating energy.’ * TLS *‘Jauhar weaves his own personal and family story into his history of the heart…very effectively… This gives a certain dramatic tension to the book, as it tells the fascinating and rather wonderful history of cardiology.’ * Henry Marsh, New Statesman *‘[An] absorbing book about the vital organ that keeps us alive.’ * Mail on Sunday, Books of the Year 2018 *‘This is a vital book. A charming, honest and unflinching exploration of a most fascinating organ: the heart. Cardiologist and author Sandeep Jauhar beautifully weaves medical research with philosophy, science with personal stories – of patients and doctors, including his very own. The depth of his knowledge is remarkable but the breadth of his compassion even more so.’ -- Elif Shafak, Chair, 2019 Wellcome Book Prize‘A moving narrative echoing to the beat of “this organ, prime mover and citadel”.’ * Nature *‘Gripping… Jauhar hooks the reader of Heart from the first few pages… Most chapters launch with a riveting scene… Fun facts are sprinkled throughout… Heart is chock-full of absorbing tales that infuse fresh air into a topic that is often relegated to textbooks or metaphors about pumps, plumbing, or love.’ * New York Times Book Review *‘Dr. Jauhar expertly weaves little-known tales from medical history into his own personal and professional experiences to create a richly detailed book about the human heart. Thoroughly engrossing and full of historical gems.’ -- Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Butchering Art‘Jauhar…is our trusty guide through a compelling story about what makes each and every one of us tick… Both primer and ode, Heart is a fascinating education for those of us who harbour this most hallowed organ but know little about it.’ * Washington Post *‘Sandeep Jauhar writes with the eye of a doctor and the heart of a poet. His latest book, Heart: A History, is a superb tribute to our most vital organ.’ -- Marilyn Yalom, Stanford University, author of The Amorous Heart: An Unconventional History of Love‘Part-memoir, part-history of his medical specialty, Heart links the physical organ with the emotional one.’ * Spectator *‘The cardiologist Sandeep Jauhar has become a Dante of modern medicine… Heart: A History is something of a “Paradiso,” pointing to the field’s brightest and noblest stars while recognizing just how much darkness is still left in the firmament… Poignant and chattily erudite.’ * Wall Street Journal *‘Cardiologist Jauhar moves beautifully between “dual tracks” of “learning about the heart…but also what was in my heart,”… Covering enough physiology to make scientific details easily understood, Jauhar emphasizes how brave, desperate, and sometimes foolhardy experiments led to important developments, such as the heart-lung machine… Jauhar is thoughtful, self-reflective, and profoundly respectful of doctors and patients alike; readers will respond by opening their own hearts a little bit, to both grief and wonder.’ * Publisher’s Weekly, starred review *‘In Heart: A History, Sandeep Jauhar, one of the most talented physician-writers of our era, takes us on an enlightening, uplifting journey through the major milestones and advances of heart disease – while at the same time anchoring his intimate, personal experiences.’ -- Eric Topol, Scripps Research Institute, author of The Patient Will See You Now

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Book Synopsis'A must-read for all athletes, from the professional to the weekend warrior.' - Wall Street JournalThe New York Times Bestselling account of the new frontier of sports recovery science, which shows what we should and shouldn't be doing between exercising to achieve maximum performance.All athletes, from Olympians to weekend warriors, must find the balance between training and recovery to maximize the benefits of workouts and reach optimal performance. For the longest time, coaches and training manuals have emphasized training above all else. However, science shows that recovery is a crucial component of exercise training and it may even be the most important one.Good to Go is the first definitive account of this new frontier in sports and exercise science. Christie Ashwanden takes you on a first-person tour through the science of exercise recovery, from ice baths and cryogenic freezing chambers to the science behind Usain Bolt’s love of chicken nuggets and Tom Brady’s recovery pyjamas.Full of eye-opening revelations, Aschwanden takes us on an invigorating journey through the science and potions of sports recovery and debunks the junk to give a clear picture of what we should actually be doing to achieve peak performance.Trade ReviewOne of the best science writers in the world . . . Good to Go is the definitive tour through a bewildering jungle of scientific (and pseudo-scientific) claims that comprise a multi-billion dollar recovery industry. -- David Epstein, bestselling author of The Sports Gene and RangeThe most important book about training you’ll read this year -- Alex Hutchinson, bestselling author of EndureThis authoritative, delightful, and much-needed book slices through the hype around athletic recovery -- Ed Yong, bestselling author of I Contain MultitudesDeeply researched and artfully written. . . a must-read for all athletes, from the professional to the weekend warrior * Wall Street Journal *Immensely enjoyable and relatable examination of the science of recovery . . . a tour de force of great science journalism -- Nate Silver, bestselling author of The Signal and the NoiseHow to best adapt to and benefit from training is still fraught with confusion . . . Christie Aschwanden offers much-needed clarity * Runner's World *Fascinating! Christie Aschwanden makes the mind-boggling world of sports recovery a hilarious adventure, and she mixes science with stories that everyone can relate to -- Jessie Diggins, member of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team and 2018 Olympic Gold MedalistAppealing to more than just gym rats and weekend warriors. It’s for anyone who wonders how scientific studies happen, and how they influence the claims on products found in grocery stores and athletic stores alike * Science News *Table of ContentsIntroduction - Introduction: Introduction Chapter - 1: Just-So Science Chapter - 2: Be Like Mike Chapter - 3: The Perfect Fuel Chapter - 4: The Cold War Chapter - 5: Flushing the Blood Chapter - 6: Calming the Senses Chapter - 7: The Rest Cure Chapter - 8: Selling Snake Oil Chapter - 9: Losing Your Zoom Chapter - 10: The Magic Metric Chapter - 11: Hurts So Good Section - Conclusion: Conclusion Acknowledgements - Acknowledgements: Acknowledgements Section - Notes: Notes Index - Index: Index

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONShe Has Her Mother’s Laugh presents a profoundly original perspective on what we pass along from generation to generation. Charles Darwin played a crucial part in turning heredity into a scientific question, and yet he failed spectacularly to answer it. The birth of genetics in the early 1900s seemed to do precisely that. Gradually, people translated their old notions about heredity into a language of genes. As the technology for studying genes became cheaper, millions of people ordered genetic tests to link themselves to missing parents, to distant ancestors, to ethnic identities . . .But, award-winning science writer Carl Zimmer argues, heredity isn’t just about genes that pass from parent to child. Heredity continues within our own bodies, as a single cell gives rise to trillions of cells that make up our bodies. We say we inherit genes from our ancestors but we inherit other things that matter as much or more to our lives, from microbes to technologies we use to make life more comfortable. We need a new definition of what heredity is and, through Carl Zimmer’s lucid exposition and storytelling, this resounding tour de force delivers it.Weaving together historical and current scientific research, his own experience with his two daughters, and the kind of original reporting expected of one of the world’s best science journalists, Zimmer ultimately unpacks urgent bioethical quandaries arising from new biomedical technologies, but also long-standing presumptions about who we really are and what we can pass on to future generations.Trade ReviewBeautifully written . . . [A] grand and sweeping book. * The Times *Nuanced, entertaining and balances eloquent story-telling with well-researched science . . . Anyone interested in their path through history, and what they may hand on, will find much to excite them. -- Book of the Week * New Scientist *Fascinating . . . Absorbing . . . Deftly persuasive. * Observer *She Has Her Mother’s Laugh is packed full of learning, and years of work . . . The book offers clear insights into a fast-moving area, and asks big questions. Scientists can eradicate diseases, alter DNA and change human heredity. Should they? What could be at stake if they get it wrong? * Guardian *This is cutting-edge stuff that could be heavy-going except that it is written by Carl Zimmer, one of our best science journalists . . . He makes complex topics accessible with his sparkling storytelling and beautiful writing . . . If you want to . . . know where the DNA revolution is headed, you can’t do better than this book, which is a joy to read. * Evening Standard *She Has Her Mother's Laugh is a masterpiece – a career-best work from one of the world's premier science writers, on a topic that literally touches every person on the planet. -- Ed Yong, author of I Contain MultitudesZimmer is a born story-teller. Or is he an inherited story-teller? The inspiring and heartbreaking stories in She Has Her Mother's Laugh build a fundamentally new perspective on what previous generations have delivered to us, and what we can pass along. An outstanding book and great accomplishment. -- Daniel Levitin, author of This is Your Brain on Music and The Organized MindExtraordinary . . . This book is Zimmer at his best: obliterating misconceptions about science with gentle prose. * New York Review of Books *Expansive, engrossing, and often enlightening. * Wired *Why do children look like their parents and siblings, but still differ from one another? . . . Engrossing . . . Zimmer’s book is an excellent way to get up to speed. * Washington Post *She Has Her Mother’s Laugh is at once far-ranging, imaginative, and totally relevant. Carl Zimmer makes the complex science of heredity read like a novel, and explains why the subject has been–and always will be–so vexed. -- Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Pulitzer Prize winner The Sixth ExtinctionShe Has Her Mother’s Laugh is a superb guide to a subject that is only becoming more important. Along the way, it explains some remarkably complicated science with equally remarkable clarity–a totally impressive job all around. -- Charles C. Mann, author of New York Times bestseller 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before ColumbusNo one unravels the mysteries of science as brilliantly and compellingly as Carl Zimmer, and he has proven it again with She Has Her Mother’s Laugh—a sweeping, magisterial book that illuminates the very nature of who we are. -- David Grann, #1 New York Times bestselling author, award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker, and author of The Lost City of ZA thoroughly enchanting tour of big questions, oddball ideas, and dazzling accomplishments of researchers searching to explain, manipulate, and alter inheritance. * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *A magnificent work . . . Journalist Zimmer masterfully blends exciting storytelling with first-rate science reporting. His book is as engrossing as it is enlightening. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *11 Fantastic Science Books to Binge Over the Holidays -- The Year in Review, 2018 * Wired *Table of ContentsUnit - Part I: A Stroke on the Cheek Chapter - 1: The Light Trifle of His Substance Chapter - 2: Traveling Across the Face of Time Chapter - 3: This Race Should End with Them Chapter - 4: Attagirl Unit - Part II: Wayward DNA Chapter - 5: An Evening’s Revelry Chapter - 6: The Sleeping Branches Chapter - 7: Individual Z Chapter - 8: Mongrels Chapter - 9: Nine Foot High Complete Chapter - 10: Ed and Fred Unit - Part III: Other Channels Chapter - 11: Ex Ovo Omnia Chapter - 12: Witches’- Broom Chapter - 13: Chimeras Unit - Part IV: Other Channels Chapter - 14: You, My Friend, Are a Wonderland Chapter - 15: Flowering Monsters Chapter - 16: The Teachable Ape Unit - Part V: The Sun Chariot Chapter - 17: Yet Did He Greatly Dare Chapter - 18: Orphaned at Conception Chapter - 19: The Planet’s Heirs

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Book Synopsis'Groundbreaking' OBSERVER 'Blows assumptions about abusive relationships out of the water' CAITLIN MORAN 'Offers a strategy for intervention that would save lives' INDEPENDENT Every four days in the UK, a woman is killed by her partner or ex-partner – and in the past year, domestic abuse has become an epidemic. For thirty years, Jane Monckton Smith has been fighting to change this. A former police officer and internationally renowned professor of public protection, she has developed her ground-breaking research into an eight-stage homicide timeline, laying out identifiable stages in which coercive relationships can escalate to violence and murder. Drawing on disciplines including psychology, sociology and law, Monckton Smith talks to victims, their families and killers to piece together the hows and whys of abuse – while shining a searching light onto the society and media that allow it to thrive.Trade ReviewBlow assumptions about relationships out of the water . . . A game-changer -- Caitlin MoranShocking, frank, and very, very necessary. -- Sam BakerA powerful book that offers a strategy for intervention that would save lives * The Independent *

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Book SynopsisTHE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO CANNABIS AND YOUR HEALTHUnderpinned by his two-year research trial in partnership with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, involving up to 20,000 patients, which will create Europe's largest body of evidence on the plant's medicinal qualities - Professor David Nutt and his team of scientists will break the mould on the way we use Cannabis for our health in the future.In David's first ground-breaking book on the subject, he will cover its impact of all areas of the body and the brain and its effective use for treatment of illness from chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and PTSD, to anxiety and depression. This is the essential knowledge that cuts through the noise and give us evidence-based information that will change people's lives.

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Book SynopsisIn For the Love of Physics, beloved MIT professor Walter Lewin, whose riveting physics lectures made him a YouTube super-star, takes readers on a remarkably fun, inventive, and often wacky journey that brings the joys of physics to life.“For the Love of Physics captures Walter Lewin’s extraordinary intellect, passion for physics, and brilliance as a teacher”—Bill Gates. For more than thirty years as a renowned professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lewin’s lectures made physics not only accessible but fun, whether putting his head in the path of a wrecking ball, supercharging himself with three hundred thousand volts of electricity, or demonstrating why the sky is blue and clouds are white. In For the Love of Physics, Lewin takes readers on a marvelous journey, opening our eyes as never before to the wonders of physics and its amazing ability to reveal the beauty and power embedded in ou

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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?

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Book SynopsisA lively argument from an award-winning journalist proving that the key to reversing America’s health crisis lies in the overlooked link between nutrition and flavor: “The Dorito Effect is one of the most important health and food books I have read” (Dr. David B. Agus, New York Times bestselling author).We are in the grip of a food crisis. Obesity has become a leading cause of preventable death, after only smoking. For nearly half a century we’ve been trying to pin the blame somewhere—fat, carbs, sugar, wheat, high-fructose corn syrup. But that search has been in vain, because the food problem that’s killing us is not a nutrient problem. It’s a behavioral problem, and it’s caused by the changing flavor of the food we eat. Ever since the 1940s, with the rise of industrialized food production, we have been gradually leeching the taste out of what we grow. Simultaneously, we have taken great leaps forwardTrade Review"Illuminating and radical." * The New York Times Book Review *“Mark Schatzker’s book comes at a time when healthful eating and sustainability are increasingly on everyone’s minds. The Dorito Effect is a quick, engaging read that examines the essential role that flavor plays in the way we eat today. As a chef, I know that people want to eat delicious food, but Schatzker goes further and investigates how we engage with flavor to address the growing health crisis.” -- Daniel Boulud, Chef/Owner, The Dinex Group“Mark Schatzker has done something monumental in The Dorito Effect, he explained how the American food industry has interfered with our body's conversation with itself. The use of flavor to change this conversation is one of the major reasons for the decline in the American diet leading to major health issues. The Dorito Effect is one of the most important health and food books I have read.” -- David B. Agus, M.D., author of The End of Illness and A Short Guide to a Long Life“In The Dorito Effect Mark Schatzker explores a novel - and to my mind, key – theory to explain our increasing consumption of the low-quality food that is undermining health. Modern food production has made much of what we eat flavorless, and a multibillion dollar flavor industry has stepped in to fool our senses, leaving us unsatisfied and craving more and more. I strongly agree with his advice to go back to eating real food.” -- Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D. New York Times bestselling author of Healthy Aging"I don't know when this much science has been this fun to read. Brilliant." -- Joel Salatin, author of Folks, This Ain't Normal and farmer at Polyface Farm"After decades of conflict over sugar, carbs and fat, this extremely well researched book journeys to the heart of the food problem—flavor—and delivers the perfect solution." -- Dr. Richard Bazinet, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto"If you want to understand why the future of healthy eating is delicious eating, read this book." -- Howard Moskowitz, inventor of Prego Extra Chunky Spaghetti Sauce and food industry legend“Mark Schatzker knows food. He is dedicated to quality and is always looking for the best ingredients. This is an important book that tells us why good food is so essential for everyone.” -- Bonnie Stern, bestselling author of HeartSmart Cooking for Family and Friends"A sobering account of humanity’s attempt to overcome modern food blandness with flavor compounds, at the expense of nutritional integrity. Schatzker's engaging chronicle of how naturally occurring food flavor is as an evolutionary tuned sensory marker of nutritional value is bound to give consumers and scientists a new perspective on judging food quality and health effects." -- Dr. Ameer Taha, Department of Food Science and Technology, UC Davis"This book is important, possibly life altering for anyone who eats!! In The Dorito Effect, Schatzker gets to the heart of where our relationship with food has gone wrong. Through lively storytelling and proficiency he points out the many issues we are facing and that the solution is right in front of us." -- Jonathan Gushue, Principal, Gushue Hospitality Inc.“Entertaining storytelling… After reading this engaging book, readers may wonder with every bite of food if what they are tasting is real.” * Kirkus Reviews *"Schatzker dishesup a 5 star serving!” * The Washington Post *

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Book Synopsis'Each part of your body will be working perfectly as a harmonious whole. You will even find lines disappearing, weight normalizing, and posture straightening.' -- Louise L. HayIn Love Your Body, Louise L. Hay brings you 54 affirmation treatments designed to help you achieve a beautiful, healthy, happy body. If you find yourself challenged by a particular part of your body, use the appropriate affirmations daily until you achieve positive results.Trade ReviewHer teachings of positive thinking and powerful life-enhancing affirmations have helped millions of people to improve their lives and has made her a legend in her own lifetime. Kindred Spirit Magazine

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Book SynopsisWhat do traffic jams, stock market crashes, and wars have in common? They are all explained using complexity, an unsolved puzzle that many researchers believe is the key to predicting – and ultimately solving—everything from terrorist attacks and pandemic viruses right down to rush hour traffic congestion. Complexity is considered by many to be the single most important scientific development since general relativity and it promises to make sense of no less than the very heart of the Universe. Using it, scientists can find order emerging from seemingly random interactions of all kinds, from something as simple as flipping coins through to more challenging problems such as the patterns in modern jazz, the growth of cancer tumours, and predicting shopping habits.Trade Review"Johnson's book fills a long-overdue need for an engaging semipopular book about complexity science, one that is also strong on the underlying scientific and theoretical concepts." "Highly recommended." * Choice *"Neil Johnson has provided a readable account of the science of complexity" * Oxford Times *

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Book SynopsisSignature in the Cell is a defining work in the discussion of life''s origins and the question of whether life is a product of unthinking matter or of an intelligent mind. For those who disagree with ID, the powerful case Meyer presents cannot be ignored in any honest debate. For those who may be sympathetic to ID, on the fence, or merely curious, this book is an engaging, eye-opening, and often eye-popping read'' '' American Spectator Named one of the top books of 2009 by the Times Literary Supplement (London), this controversial and compelling book from Dr. Stephen C. Meyer presents a convincing new case for intelligent design (ID), based on revolutionary discoveries in science and DNA. Along the way, Meyer argues that Charles Darwin''s theory of evolution as expounded in The Origin of Species did not, in fact, refute ID. If you enjoyed Francis Collins''s The Language of God, you''ll find much to ponder''about evolution, DNA, and intelligent design''in Signature in the Cell.

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Book SynopsisA ''difficult'' subject so simply taught - brilliant book'' - Amazon 5 star review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''This is a great refresher book! Lots of worked out examples, great explanations [and] hundreds of practice problems and solutions'' - Amazon 5 star review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐''This book has been very helpful for my calculus class, I recommend it to anyone that needs extra help, or just feel like learning something new.'' - Amazon 5 star review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Calculus: A Complete Introduction is the most comprehensive yet easy-to-use introduction to using calculus. Written by a leading expert, this book will help you if you are studying for an important exam or essay, or if you simply want to improve your knowledge. The book covers all areas of calculus, including functions, gradients, rates of change, differentiation, exponential and logarithm

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2018Bestselling author Simon Winchester writes a magnificent history of the pioneering engineers who developed precision machinery to allow us to see as far as the moon and as close as the Higgs boson.Precision is the key to everything. It is an integral, unchallenged and essential component of our modern social, mercantile, scientific, mechanical and intellectual landscapes. The items we value in our daily lives a camera, phone, computer, bicycle, car, a dishwasher perhaps all sport components that fit together with precision and operate with near perfection. We also assume that the more precise a device the better it is. And yet whilst we live lives peppered and larded with precision, we are not, when we come to think about it, entirely sure what precision is, or what it means. How and when did it begin to build the modern world?Simon Winchester seeks to answer these questions through stories of precision's pioneers. Exactly takeTrade Review‘Winchester’s latest is a rollicking work of pop science that entertains and informs’ Publishers Weekly (starred review) ‘Winchester makes a convincing case … ‘Exactly’ succeeds resoundingly in making us think more deeply about the everyday objects we take for granted. It challenges us to reflect on our progress as humans and what has made it possible. It is interesting, informative, exciting and emotional, and for anyone with even some curiosity about what makes the machines of our world work as well as they do, it’s a real treat’ New York Times ‘Simon Winchester’s new book is a tale of many triumphs … His delight in words cannot be bridled, so that even “Exactly,” which is, after all, a nonfiction treatment of technology, brims with amusing and rare nouns such as bagatelle, bijoux, cynosure, seraglio and susurrus. These whir smoothly alongside the argot of the machine shop … Mr. Winchester covers more than 200 years of fine-tuning in this work, and corrals a large cast of eccentric individuals’ Wall Street Journal ‘An ingenious argument that the dazzling advances that produced the scientific revolution, the industrial revolution, and the revolutions that followed owe their success to a single engineering element: precision … An enthusiastic popular-science tour of technological marvels … readers will love the ride’ Kirkus ‘Another gem from one of the world’s justly celebrated historians specializing in unusual and always fascinating subjects and people’ Booklist (starred review)

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Book SynopsisA highly contentious, very readable and totally up-to-the-minute investigation of women’s natural relationship with modern technology, an association which, Plant argues, will trigger a new sexual revolution. Zeros and Ones is an intelligent, provocative and accessible investigation of the intersection between women, feminism, machines and in particular, information technology. Arguing that the computer is rewriting the old conceptions of man and his world, it suggests that the telecoms revolution is also a sexual revolution which undermines the fundamental assumptions crucial to patriarchal culture. Historical, contemporary and future developments in telecommunications and in IT are interwoven with the past, present and future of feminism, women and sexual difference, and a wealth of connections, parallels and affinities between machines and women are uncovered as a result. Challenging the belief that man was ever in control of either his own agency, the planet, or his machines, this book argues it is seriously undermined by the new scientific paradigms emergent from theories of chaos, complexity and connectionism, all of which suggest that the old distinctions between man, woman, nature and technology need to be radically reassessed.

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Book SynopsisEverything you've always wanted to know about poisons but have been too afraid to ask

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Book SynopsisA charming and eye-opening exploration of the special relationship between humans and chickens from Sy Montgomery, “one of our finest chroniclers of the natural world” (The New York Times). For more than two decades, Sy Montgomery—whose The Soul of an Octopus was a National Book Award finalist—has kept a flock of chickens in her backyard. Each chicken has an individual personality (outgoing or shy, loud or quiet, reckless or cautious) and connects with Sy in her own way. In this short, delightful book, Sy takes us inside the flock and reveals all the things that make chickens such remarkable creatures: only hours after leaving the egg, they are able to walk, run, and peck; relationships are important to them and the average chicken can recognize more than one hundred other chickens; they remember the past and anticipate the future; and they communicate specific information through at least twenty-four distinct calls. V

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Book SynopsisA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*Why does your foot hit the brake pedal before you are conscious of danger ahead?* *Why is it so difficult to keep a secret?* *How is it possible to get angry at yourself: who, exactly, is mad at whom?* In this sparkling and provocative book, renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman navigates the depths of the subconscious brain. Taking in brain damage, plane spotting, dating, drugs, beauty, infidelity, synaesthesia, criminal law, artificial intelligence and visual illusions, INCOGNITO is a thrilling subsurface exploration of the mind and all its contradictions.Trade ReviewThe Malcolm Gladwell of brain science * * Independent * *[An] entertaining and truly brainy front-line report from the neuroscience labs... I guarantee it'll change the way you think of yourself * * Mail on Sunday * *Incognito is a fascinating book that will not so much turn your mind upside down as flip it right-side up. You'll never hear the phase "You don't know what you're doing!" in the same way again * * Time Out * *Breezy, fun, optimistic and full of the latest research * * The Sunday Times * *Original and provocative... A smart, captivating book that will give you a prefrontal workout * * Nature * *A shining example of lucid and easy-to-grasp science writing * * Independent on Sunday * ****** I was completely immersed. Eagleman writes well and has brought together great stories from the wild shores of neuroresearch, taking a field that is enormously complex and creating a clear path through it... A book that will stay with you -- Michael Mosley, author of THE FAST DIET * * BBC Focus * *A fun read by a smart person for smart people... It will attract a new generation to ponder their inner workings * * New Scientist * *Eagleman engagingly sums up recent discoveries about the unconscious processes that dominate our mental life. . . . [He] is the kind of guy who really does make being a neuroscientist look like fun * * New York Times * *A dream to read... I couldn't resist telling people about a couple of things I read here -- Brian Clegg * * Popular Science * *Witty, bright, sharp and unexpected... as surprising a book as I've read for years. Every story is a new Heaven -- Brian EnoReaders may discover much to appreciate - not least the lives they are living now... quirky, occasionally unsettling... never short of new new ideas, all of them rolled out with style -- Nicholas Tucker * * Independent * *Eagleman provides an excellent overview of the workings of our most vital organ -- Ian Critchley * * Sunday Times * *A well-written popular science book, with a clear narrative, friendly explanations that respect both the lay-reader's intelligence and their ignorance, and a plethora of weird facts that make you nudge the person next to you and say 'Listen to this!' -- Brandon Robshaw * * Independent on Sunday * *Contains startling revelations. . . beginning with the awesome and shadowy power of the subconscious * * The Times * *You will learn a great deal that is fascinating from Incognito * * Guardian * *A popularizer of impressive gusto . . . [Eagleman] aims, grandly, to do for the study of the mind what Copernicus did for the study of the stars. . . Incognito proposes a grand new account of the relationship between consciousness and the brain. It is full of dazzling ideas, as it is chockablock with facts and instances * * New York Observer * *A bold argument, and perhaps just the beginning of the debate * * Sunday Herald * *Eagleman's style is accessible and easily understood * * Press Association * *A fascinating and engaging look at the nature of consciousness... Eagleman brings a concise prose style, historical research and the latest scientific thinking to a book that will have you re-examining the nature of personality and identity * * Big Issue * *Lyrical, unpretentious, always compelling * * Sunday Telegraph * *Eagleman explains scientific ideas with exemplary clarity * * Spectator * *He has a gift for communicating complicated ideas in an accessible and friendly way - Brian Cox with an American accent * * Seven, Sunday Telegraph * *Eagleman has a talent for testing the untestable, for taking seemingly sophomoric notions and using them to nail down the slippery stuff of consciousness * * The New York Times * *Appealing and persuasive * * Wall Street Journal * *Your mind is an elaborate trick, and mastermind David Eagleman explains how the trick works with great lucidity and amazement. Your mind will thank you * * Wired * *

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Book Synopsis'Beautifully written and researched.' - Isabella Tree, author of WildingThe physical world is infinitely complex, yet most of us are able to find our way around it. We can walk through unfamiliar streets while maintaining a sense of direction, take shortcuts along paths we have never used and remember for many years places we have visited only once. These are remarkable achievements.In Wayfinding, Michael Bond explores how we do it: how our brains make the ‘cognitive maps’ that keep us orientated, even in places that we don’t know. He considers how we relate to places, and asks how our understanding of the world around us affects our psychology and behaviour.The way we think about physical space has been crucial to our evolution: the ability to navigate over large distances in prehistoric times gave Homo sapiens an advantage over the rest of the human family. Children are instinctive explorers, developing a spatial understanding as they roam. And yet today few of us make use of the wayfaring skills that we inherited from our nomadic ancestors. Most of us have little idea what we may be losing.Bond seeks an answer to the question of why some of us are so much better at finding our way than others. He also tackles the controversial subject of sex differences in navigation, and finally tries to understand why being lost can be such a devastating psychological experience.For readers of writers as different as Robert Macfarlane and Oliver Sacks, Wayfinding is a book that can change our sense of ourselves.'A fascinating excursion into the very nature of exploration. Absorbing stuff.' – explorer Benedict AllenTrade ReviewFascinating . . . Bond offers stories of phenomenal feats of navigation . . . Ultimately, “we are spatial beings” and Wayfinding skilfully and at times movingly makes the case for how deeply that is true. * Sunday Times *In this fascinating book about our gift for what Michael Bond calls wayfinding, he makes a compelling case that our ancient abilities to get from A to B aren’t just a matter of geography. * New Statesman *Michael Bond’s fascinating, incisive account of how the human brain evolved to keep us orientated throws up intriguing questions about how we live today . . . Beautifully written and researched; I hugely enjoyed this book. -- Isabella Tree, author of WildingTo understand anything, we first need to put it in some sort of order. A sense of direction is essential to the development of intelligence. Does this mean our world of automated travel and route-dictating apps is making us stupid? Michael Bond investigates in Wayfinding. * New Scientist *One of the most fascinating books I have read for a long while, not least because of how it opens up so many other subjects. * Scotsman *I hope this book will inspire people to explore and experiment with [their navigational] abilities, for if they do, they will be in for a wonderful surprise. -- Robin Knox-JohnstonAn excellently researched popular science book which explains how people — including experienced travellers — get lost, and why some individuals have superior navigational skills than others. * Spectator *A fascinating excursion into the very nature of exploration. Absorbing stuff. -- Benedict Allen

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Book Synopsis‘Intimate and thoughtful… Exciting… [A] sweeping evolutionary history.’ Science The author of the bestselling Your Inner Fish gives us a brilliant, up-to-date account of the great transformations in the history of life on Earth. This is a story full of surprises. If you think that feathers arose to help animals fly, or lungs to help them walk on land, you’d be in good company. You’d also be entirely wrong. Neil Shubin delves deep into the mystery of life, the ongoing revolutions in our understanding of how we got here, and brings us closer to answering one of the great questions – was life on earth inevitable…or was it all an accident?Trade Review‘Neil Shubin’s book is one that completely changed my understanding of evolution… The things I learned from this book stayed with me – I’m still dropping facts into conversation.’ * BBC Science Focus, BOOK OF THE YEAR *‘Neil Shubin shows himself to be a natural storyteller and a gifted scientific communicator.’ * Wall Street Journal *‘A rollicking ride…light of touch, anecdote-rich and funny, and yet…still feels satisfyingly informative... What’s not to love?’ -- Dr Tori Herridge, BBC Wildlife'Neil Shubin provides an up-to-date and utterly engrossing account of the latest thinking on the great transformations in evolution… Frequently funny and always eloquent, Shubin’s power as a science communicator is to make you fall in love with evolutionary biology all over again.’ -- Leon Vlieger * The Inquisitive Biologist *'Neil Shubin is one of the most accomplished writers on evolution and the history of life, and this book is a worthy successor to its predecessors.' -- Richard Fortey, author of Life, The Earth and Fossils'Another winner from Dr. Shubin, who skillfully and thoughtfully steers us through the incredibly fascinating world of DNA and fossils. Dr. Shubin’s clear and engaging writing rewards us with a deeper understanding of how all life on our planet is interconnected. Steeped in the paradigm of evolutionary theory, he inspires us to think more deeply about our connectedness with the natural world. Charles Darwin would applaud Dr. Shubin’s clear explanations and insightful rendering of the incontrovertible evidence for the evolution of all life on planet Earth.' -- Donald Johanson, paleoanthropologist and discoverer of LUCY‘A welcome new exploration of the evolution of human and animal life on Earth… Shubin explores it with his characteristic enthusiasm and clarity… A fascinating wild ride through the mechanics of evolution.’ -- Kirkus (starred review)'Neil Shubin has been one of my favourite science communicators ever since I took his undergraduate anatomy course. In this ambitious and readable book, Shubin blends his own research, epic tales from the history of science, and the latest discoveries in palaeontology and genetics to tackle some of the biggest mysteries of evolution. This is an engrossing account from a scientific storyteller at the height of his talents.' -- Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh palaeontologist and author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs‘Shubin’s … exhilarating excursion into the ways of evolution… Shubin isn’t the most prolific popular-science writer, but he is one of the best.’ -- Booklist (starred review)‘Enjoyable… Eloquent… This superb primer brings the intellectual excitement of the scientific endeavor to life in a way that both educates and entertains.’ * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *'Through tales of remarkable creatures, and some even more remarkable people who study them, Neil Shubin unravels the mystery at the heart of evolution — how nature invents. From bacteria to brains, fish lungs to ballistic salamander tongues, Shubin decodes the surprising origins of the marvelous gadgets that have driven the riot of life’s diversity.' -- Sean B. Carroll, author of The Serengeti Rules and Brave Genius

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Book SynopsisCells are the basis of all life in the universe. Our bodies are made up of billions of them: an incredibly complex society that governs everything, from movement to memory and imagination. When we age, it is because our cells slow down; when we get ill, it is because our cells mutate or stop working.In How We Live and Why we Die, Wolpert provides a clear explanation of the science that underpins our lives. He explains how our bodies function and how we derived from a single cell - the embryo. He examines the science behind the topics that are much discussed but rarely understood - stem-cell research, cloning, DNA - and explains how all life evolved from just one cell. Lively and passionate, How We Live and Why we Die is an accessible guide to understanding the human body and, essentially, life itself.

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Book SynopsisIn The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins crystallized the gene''s eye view of evolution developed by W.D. Hamilton and others. The book provoked widespread and heated debate. Written in part as a response, The Extended Phenotype gave a deeper clarification of the central concept of the gene as the unit of selection; but it did much more besides. In it, Dawkins extended the gene''s eye view to argue that the genes that sit within an organism have an influence that reaches out beyond the visible traits in that body - the phenotype - to the wider environment, which can include other individuals. So, for instance, the genes of the beaver drive it to gather twigs to produce the substantial physical structure of a dam; and the genes of the cuckoo chick produce effects that manipulate the behaviour of the host bird, making it nurture the intruder as one of its own. This notion of the extended phenotype has proved to be highly influential in the way we understand evolution and the natural world. It represents a key scientific contribution to evolutionary biology, and it continues to play an important role in research in the life sciences.The Extended Phenotype is a conceptually deep book that forms important reading for biologists and students. But Dawkins'' clear exposition is accessible to all who are prepared to put in a little effort.Oxford Landmark Science books are ''must-read'' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.Trade ReviewThe Extended Phenotype is a sequel to The Selfish Gene ... he writes so clearly it could be understood by anyone prepared to make the effort * John Maynard Smith, LRB *This entertaining and thought-provoking book is an excellent illustration of why the study of evolution is in such an exciting ferment these days. * Science *Table of ContentsAFTERWORD BY DANIEL DENNETT; GLOSSARY; AUTHOR INDEX; SUBJECT INDEX

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Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZELONGLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME PRIZEALL IN THE MIND? - Can meditation fend off dementia? - Can the smell of lavender affect the immune system? - Can your thoughts ease physical pain? In Cure, award-winning science writer Jo Marchant travels the world to meet the physicians, patients and researchers on the cutting edge of mind-body medicine, asking how the brain can heal the body and how we can all make changes to keep ourselves healthier.Trade ReviewShould be compulsory reading for all young doctors * * NEW SCIENTIST * *[Marchant] surveys with grace what we think we know, and what we would like to know, about the mysterious and troubling relationship between our minds and our bodies * * GUARDIAN * *A revved-up, research-packed explication of the use of mind in medicine * * NATURE * *Turns the mind-body debate on its head * * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT * *A well-researched page-turner . . . may very well lead to widespread changes in the ways we practice medicine * * NEW YORK POST * *A diligent and useful work that makes the case for 'holistic' medicine while warning against the snake-oil salesmen who have annexed that word for profit * * SUNDAY TIMES * *This is popular science writing at its very best . . . I would recommend this book to anybody who has a mind and a body -- HENRY MARSH * * author of DO NO HARM: STORIES OF LIFE, DEATH, AND BRAIN SURGERY * *Marchant is a skeptical, evidence-based reporter - one with a background in microbiology, no less - which makes for a fascinating juxtaposition against some of the alternative treatments she discusses * * NEW YORK MAGAZINE * *A thought-provoking exploration of how the mind affects the body and can be harnessed to help treat physical illness, by an award-winning science journalist * * ECONOMIST, Book of the Year * *A rewarding read that seeks to separate the wishful and emotion-driven from the scientifically tested * * WASHINGTON POST * *Marchant writes this with sparkling clarity and authority . . . much food for thought * * NUDGE * *This is an important book, and one that will challenge those dismissive of efforts to investigate how our thoughts, emotions and beliefs might directly influence our physical wellbeing . . . intriguing and trailblazing * * SYDNEY MORNING HERALD * *A powerful and critically needed conceptual bridge for those who are frustrated with pseudoscientific explanations of alternative therapies but intrigued by the mind's potential power to both cause and treat chronic, stress-related conditions * * PUBLISHERS WEEKLY * *Cure represents a journey in the best sense of the word: a vivid, compassionate, generous exploration of the role of the human mind in both health and illness -- DEBORAH BLUMOptimistic . . . [and] empowering * * MAIL ON SUNDAY * *Marchant makes her case so cogently that it is hard to disagree * * INDEPENDENT * *Thought-provoking . . . Ms Marchant's book makes a convincing case * * ECONOMIST * *

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Book SynopsisRay Kurzweil, one of the world's leading AI researchers, innovators and futurists, offers a provocative exploration of the most important project in human-machine civilisation: reverse-engineering the brain to understand precisely how it works and using that knowledge to create even more intelligent machines.Trade Review'Kurzweil's vision of our super-enhanced future is completely sane and calmly reasoned, and his book should nicely smooth the path for the earth's robot overlords, who, it turns out, will be us' New York Times'Kurzweil foresees a disease-free world where no one ages and artificial brains make machines human-like - and he is not one to get things wrong' Daily Telegraph'Ray Kurzweil is the best person I know at predicting the future of artificial intelligence' Bill Gates'Kurzweil knows a lot about new technology and he knows how to make it sound fun. He is dazzling in his enthusiasm for things to come, and has a grasp of the exciting developments pulsing through the intersection of science and technology' Financial Times

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Book SynopsisInternationally renowned theoretical physicist and bestselling author Lawrence Krauss offers provocative, revelatory answers to the biggest philosophical questions: Where did our universe come from? Why does anything exist? And how is it all going to end? ''Why is there something rather than nothing?'' is the question atheists and scientists are always asked,and until now there has not been a satisfying scientific answer. Today, exciting scientific advances provide new insight into this cosmological mystery: not only cansomething arise from nothing, but something willalwaysarise from nothing. A mind-bending trip back to the beginning of the beginning, A Universe from Nothingauthoritatively presents the most recent evidence that explains how our universe evolved - and the implications for how it''s going to end. It will provoke, challenge, and delight readers to look at the most basic underpinnings of existence in a whole new way. In the words of Richard Dawkins: this could potentially

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Book SynopsisWhy does Nature use the same special patterns over and over again? What are the main families of natural design? How are they formed? Did the ancient Chinese really study this subtle and elegant subject? In this beautiful book, illustrated by the author, a new perception of organic pattern, 'Li', is presented for the first time in the West. Essential reading for designers, artists, philosophers and natural scientists. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

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Book SynopsisHow does a Venus flytrap know when to snap shut? Can an orchid get jet lag? Does a tomato plant feel pain when you pluck a fruit from its vines? And does your favourite fern care whether you play Bach or the Beatles? Combining cutting-edge research with lively storytelling, biologist Daniel Chamovitz explores how plants experience our shared Earth – through sight, smell, touch, hearing, memory, and even awareness. Whether you are a green thumb, a science buff, a vegetarian, or simply a nature lover, this rare inside look at the life of plants will surprise and delight.Trade Review"By comparing human senses to the abilities of plants to adapt to their surroundings, the author provides a fascinating and logical explanation of how plants survive despite the inability to move from one site to another. Backed by new research on plant biology, this is an intriguing look at a plant's consciousness." * Scientific American *"This is great" * The Times *

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Book Synopsis''Science has never had an advocate quite like David Deutsch ... A computational physicist on a par with his touchstones Alan Turing and Richard Feynman, and a philosopher in the line of his greatest hero, Karl Popper. His arguments are so clear that to read him is to experience the thrill of the highest level of discourse available on this planet and to understand it'' Peter Forbes, IndependentIn our search for truth, how far have we advanced? This uniquely human quest for good explanations has driven amazing improvements in everything from scientific understanding and technology to politics, moral values and human welfare. But will progress end, either in catastrophe or completion - or will it continue infinitely?In this profound and seminal book, David Deutsch explores the furthest reaches of our current understanding, taking in the Infinity Hotel, supernovae and the nature of optimism, to instill in all of us a wonder at what we have achieved - and the fact that this is only the beginning of humanity''s infinite possibility.''This is Deutsch at his most ambitious, seeking to understand the implications of our scientific explanations of the world ... I enthusiastically recommend this rich, wide-ranging and elegantly written exposition of the unique insights of one of our most original intellectuals'' Michael Berry, Times Higher Education Supplement ''Bold ... profound ... provocative and persuasive'' Economist''David Deutsch may well go down in history as one of the great scientists of our age'' ScotsmanTrade ReviewExperience the thrill of the highest level of discourse available on this planet ... This is the great Life, the Universe and Everything book for our time * Independent *Bold ... profound ... provocative and persuasive. * The Economist *Science has never had an advocate quite like David Deutsch. He is a computational physicist on a par with his touchstones Alan Turing and Richard Feynman, and also a philosopher in the line of his greatest hero, Karl Popper. His arguments are so clear that to read him is to experience the thrill of the highest level of discourse available on this planet and to understand it. -- Peter Forbes * The Independent *This is Deutsch at his most ambitious, seeking to understand the implications of our scientific explanations of the world ... I enthusiastically recommend this rich, wide-ranging and elegantly written exposition of the unique insights of one of our most original intellectuals. -- Michael Berry * Times Higher Education Supplement *David Deutsch...may well go down in history as one of the great scientists of our age. -- Andrew Crumey * The Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisTwo Groundbreaking Scientists and Their Conflicting Visions of the Future of Our Planet'Does the earth’s finite carrying capacity mean economic growth has to stop? That momentous question is the subject of Charles Mann’s brilliant book.' Wall Street JournalIn forty years, the population of the Earth will reach ten billion. Can our world support so many people? What kind of world will it be? In this unique, original and important book, Charles C. Mann illuminates the four great challenges we face – food, water, energy, climate change – through an exploration of the crucial work and wide-ranging influence of two little-known twentieth-century scientists, Norman Borlaug and William Vogt.Vogt (the Prophet) was the intellectual forefather of the environmental movement, and believed that in our using more than the planet has to give, our prosperity will bring us to ruin. Borlaug’s research in the 1950s led to the development of modern high-yield crops that have saved millions from starvation. The Wizard of Mann’s title, he believed that science will continue to rise to the challenges we face.Mann tells the stories of these scientists and their crucial influence on today’s debates as his story ranges from Mexico to India, across continents and oceans and from the past and the present to the future. Brilliantly original in concept, wryly observant and deeply researched, The Wizard and the Prophet is essential reading for readers of Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens or Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel, for anyone interested in how we got here and in the future of our species.Trade ReviewMann’s storytelling skills are unmatched . . . [He] provides detail enough, and simplicity enough, that anyone who is struggling with these puzzles will be enlightened and informed. And entertained, which, given the subject matter, is no small feat. * New York Times *Does the earth’s finite carrying capacity mean economic growth has to stop? That momentous question is the subject of Charles Mann’s brilliant book . . . A treasure house of knowledge . . . Indispensable. * Wall Street Journal *Prophets say we must reduce consumption, Wizards say we must find more efficient means of production. This intense and carefully-researched book presents a balanced, scholarly and calm exploration of society’s most pressing problems. -- Ten Of The Best Books About Climate Change, Conservation And The Environment of 2018 * Forbes *Masterful . . . Mann’s most spectacular accomplishment is to take no sides . . . An insightful, highly significant account that makes no predictions but lays out the critical environmental problems already us. * Kirkus starred review *This unique, encompassing, clarifying, engrossing, inquisitive, and caring work of multifaceted research, synthesis and analysis humanizes the challenges and contradictions of modern environmentalism and and our struggle towards a viable future. * Booklist starred review *Fascinating . . . Mann offers a sympathetic, nuanced way to understand one of the fundamental debates of our time: How will 10 billion humans live sustainably on Earth, when our demands for energy and food are growing? -- Annalee Newitz, editor, Ars Technica11 Fantastic Science Books to Binge Over the Holidays. -- The Year in Review, 2018 * Wired *

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Book SynopsisAlan Weisman is an award-winning journalist and the author of several books, including the global bestseller The World Without Us, which has been translated into 34 international languages and was nominated for numerous awards. His writing has appeared in Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times Magazine and many other places. Alan has worked on all seven continent and reported from 58 countries, and lives in western Massachusetts.Trade ReviewCompelling ... jammed packed with fascinating "what ifs" * Guardian *A powerful vision of a possible future for the earth * Sunday Times *A fascinating nonfiction eco-thriller * The New York Times Book Review *Drawing from hundreds of interviews with engineers, scientists and archaeologists, it unfolds like a thriller -- Cal Flyn * Guardian Best Books about the Post-Human Earth *One of the grandest thought experiments of our time, a tremendous feat of imaginative reporting! * Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Deep Economy *Flesh-creepingly good fun . . . Food for thought * Independent *A wonderful idea... a hugely enjoyable and thought-provoking book... Terrific * Evening Standard *The imaginative power of The World Without Us is compulsive and nearly hypnotic--make sure you have time to be kidnapped into Alan Weisman's alternative world before you sit down with the book, because you won't soon return. This is a text that has a chance to change people, and so make a real difference for the planet * Charles Wohlforth, author of L.A. Times Book Prize-winning The Whale and the Supercomputer *An exacting account of the processes by which things fall apart. The scope is breathtaking...the clarity and lyricism of the writing itself left me with repeated gasps of recognition about the human condition. I believe it will be a classic * Dennis Covington, author of National Book Award finalist Salvation on Sand Mountain *The book boasts an amazingly imaginative conceit that manages to tap into underlying fears and subtly inspire us to consider our interaction with the planet * The Washington Post *Alan Weisman offers us a sketch of where we stand as a species that is both illuminating and terrifying. His tone is conversational and his affection for both Earth and humanity transparent * Barry Lopez, author of Arctic Dreams *Fascinating, mordant, deeply intelligent, and beautifully written, The World Without Us depicts the spectacle of humanity's impact on the planet Earth in tragically poignant terms that go far beyond the dry dictates of science. This is a very important book for a species playing games with its own destiny * James Howard Kunstler, author of The Long Emergency *Marvellous...the first environmentalist not to preach, but to present us with the sober, humbling facts ... so intricate is his web of evidence, so seductive his argument, that he doesn't need to preach ... The effect of The World Without Us is a little like reading Pliny the Elder's history of the world: a sense of nature as the caster of spells and marvels, but with ourselves not as wide-eyed observers, nor as villains somehow separate from nature, but simply as resourceful and blundering * Daily Telegraph *This is not a book about the end of the world but about an imagined beginning ...The results of this huge thought-experiment are both fascinating and surprising. Fascinating for what they tell us about the impermanence of the works of man, and surprising for the simple reason that it soon becomes clear that our world would carry on regardless, indifferent to our demise * Daily Mail *Weisman's gripping fantasy will make most readers hope that at least some of us can stick around long enough to see how it all turns out * New York Times *Engrossing * New York Magazine *An idea that is so lateral and clever, so powerfully evocative and masterfully executed that the only appropriate response is fervent envy * New Statesman *A wonderful idea ... a hugely enjoyable and thought-provoking book * Scotsman *Fascinating, absorbing * Good Book Guide *A quick, absorbing read - a summer beach book with brains * Bloomberg *If you can stomach only one end-of-the world-as-we-know it story this summer, none is more audacious or interesting than Alan Weisman's The World Without Us * The Boston Globe *

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Book Synopsis'From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself' Richard Dawkins'A masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are . . . this book really shines . . . Roberts's lightness of touch is joyous, and celebratory' Observer'Witty, personal and above all informed by passion and deep knowledge, this is the story of you, not just from conception onwards but from the millions of years of evolution that have shaped the way we are today' Adam Rutherford***SHORTLISTED FOR THE WELLCOME BOOK PRIZE***Alice Roberts takes you on the most incredible journey, revealing your path from a single cell to a complex embryo to a living, breathing, thinking person. It's a story that connects us with our distant ancestors and an extraordinary, unlikely chain of events that shaped human development and left a mark on all of us. Alice Roberts uses the latest research to uncover the evolutionary history hidden in all of us, from the secrets found only in our embryos and genes - including why as embroyos we have what look like gills - to those visible in your anatomy. This is a tale of discovery, exploring why and how we have developed as we have. This is your story, told as never before. Trade ReviewAlice Roberts tells us about the most amazing story on the planet - the creation of the human animal. Nothing is more extraordinary and her guided tour of the human body takes us on a fascinating journey of self-discovery -- Desmond MorrisA masterful account of why our bodies are the way they are ... Roberts skilfully and knowledgeably weaves embryology, genetics, anatomy, evolution and zoology to tell the incredible story of the human body ... It is in comparative anatomy that this book really shines ... Roberts's anatomical expertise is seductive ... Roberts's lightness of touch is joyous, and celebratory -- Adam Rutherford * Observer *Roberts's engagingly personal style connects you to your ancestors, to your own personal beginnings as a single cell and, in a most attractive way, to herself as an author of great charm. From your brain to your fingertips, you emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself -- Richard DawkinsA brilliant account of how a single cell transforms itself into a living, breathing, thinking person. The book exudes physicality, it is like having an intellectual massage of every muscle in your body - afterwards you are keenly aware of your body and feel like a different person -- Mark Miodownik * author of The Genius of Invention *The biggest gap in biology is that between DNA . . . and living creatures . . . Alice Roberts has set out to find it. With wit and enthusiasm, she succeeds -- Steve Jones * Geneticist and author of The Single Helix *'Witty, personal and above all informed by passion and deep knowledge' Adam Rutherford. * Adam Rutherford *'Her guided tour of the human body takes us on a fascinating journey of self-discovery' Desmond Morris. * Desmond Morris *'Alice Roberts's engagingly personal style connects you to your ancestors, to your own beginnings as a single cell ... You emerge from her book entertained and with a deeper understanding of yourself' Richard Dawkins. * Richard Dawkins *

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Book SynopsisWinner of the Royal Society Science Book.'Exhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer' - The TimesFor billions of years, Earth was an inhospitably alien place – covered with churning seas, slowly crafting its landscape through volcanic eruptions, the atmosphere in a constant state of chemical flux. And yet, despite facing literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter, life has been extinguished and picked itself up to evolve again.From that first foray to the spread of early hominids who later became Homo sapiens, life has persisted, undaunted. A (Very) Short History of Life: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Chapters is an enlightening story of survival, of persistence, illuminating the delicate balance within which life has always existed, and continues to exist today. It is our planet like you’ve never seen it before.Dr Henry Gee presents creatures from ‘gregarious’ bacteria populating the seas to duelling dinosaurs in the Triassic period, to magnificent mammals with the future in their grasp. Life’s evolutionary steps – from the development of a digestive system to the awe of creatures taking to the skies in flight – are conveyed with an up-close intimacy.'Henry Gee makes the kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting.' – Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and SteelTrade ReviewA scintillating, fast-paced waltz through four billion years of evolution, from one of our leading science writers . . . His poetic prose animates the history of life, from the first bacteria to trilobites to dinosaurs to us. -- Steve Brusatte, University of Edinburgh paleontologist and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the DinosaursExhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer, juggling humour, precision, polemic and poetry to enrich his impossibly telescoped account . . . [making] clear sense out of very complex narratives * The Times *This is now the best book available about the huge changes in our planet and its living creatures, over the billions of years of the Earth’s existence . . . Henry Gee makes this kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting. Who will enjoy reading this book? Everybody! -- Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and SteelHenry Gee’s whistle-stop account of the story of life (and death — lots of death) on Earth is both fun and informative. Even better, it goes beyond the natural human inclination to see ourselves as special and puts us in our proper place in the cosmic scheme of things -- John GribbinDon’t miss this delightful, concise, sweeping masterpiece! Gee brilliantly condenses the entire, improbable, astonishing history of life on earth — all 5 billion years - into a charming, zippy and scientifically accurate yarn. -- Daniel E. Lieberman, Professor of Biological Sciences, Harvard University'Gee's prose is so infectiously enthusiastic, and his tone so accessible, that you'll find yourself racing through as if you were reading a novel - and you'll never find yourself scrambling for a good fact to wheel out at an awkward pause in conversation again.' * Reader's Digest *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“An excellent addition to anyone’s bee library.”—Adrian Waring, Bee Craft “Anyone deeply interested in natural history will ignore this mad little volume at their peril.”—Simon Ings, New Scientist“Highly engaging.”—Gard W. Otis, American Entomologist“A must have book for all beekeepers and bee lovers.”—Scott Shalaway, Youngstown Vindicator“Delightful.”—Harvard Magazine“Following the Wild Bees just might give readers an intellectually (and physically) stimulating new outdoor activity.”—The Scientist“Seeley’s passion for the social insects blazes as he quotes historical accounts by Henry David Thoreau and describes the intricacies of the chase.”—Barbara Kiser, Nature

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Book Synopsis‘Life-changing' DAVINA McCALL'A must-read' DR RUPY AUJLA'Fascinating' NIGELLA LAWSON**AS SEEN ON THE ONE SHOW**Empowering and practical, Food for Life is nothing less than a new approach to how to eat - for our health and the health of the planet.Food is our greatest ally for good health, but the question of what to eat in the age of ultra-processed food has never seemed so complicated.Drawing on cutting-edge research and personal insights, Professor Tim Spector offers clear answers in this definitive, easy-to-follow guide to the new science of eating well.‘No fads, no nonsense, just practical, science-based advice on how to eat well’ Daily Mail, Books of the Year'A rigorously academic book that welcomes the layperson with open arms' The Times** A THE TIMES and SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR**** WINNER OF THE FORTNUM & MASON SPECIAL AWARD **Go with your gut. Join the food revolution.**PRE-ORDER THE FOOD FOR LIFE COOKBOOK, COMING OCTOBER 2024, NOW**Trade ReviewTim Spector makes healthy eating exhilarating, empowering and achievable. -- Hugh Fearnley-WhittingstallA brilliant deep-dive into how food affects our wellbeing – and more importantly, what we can do about it. Enlightening and empowering -- Liz EarleSpector writes as a food lover... Every person's ideal diet is different, and should be based on sensible choices from a position of knowledge. Food for Life is a feast of that knowledge... A valuable reference book to keep on a kitchen shelf. * Guardian *The nutrition revolution is well underway and Tim Spector is one of the visionaries leading the way. His writing is illuminating and so incredibly timely. -- Yotam Ottolenghi - praise for SPOON-FED[A] weighty and detailed guide to modern living... [Spector] explains how to boost your microbiome and tailor your diet. * Sunday Times, *Books of the Year* *No fads, no nonsense, just practical, science-based advice on how to eat well. * Daily Mail, *Books of the Year* *Food for Life is a fascinating tour d'horizon, deftly drawing on recent research... Wellwritten [and] informative. * Literary Review *Tim Spector has been exploding the myths around food and health for years... Here he continues the demolition job in a rigorously academic book that welcomes the layperson with open arms. * The Times, *Books of the Year* *Tim's book is a revelation. With his years of experience and engaging writing, he navigates the fascinating and complicated relationship between food and health. A must-read for anyone seeking a respected and trustworthy guide through the murky world of nutrition -- Dr RupyA life-changing book -- Davina McCall

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Book SynopsisA scientific and globetrotting exploration of the physics experiments changing the ways we understand our universe bringing the science of cosmology down to earth.Trade Review'A remarkable narrative that combines fundamental physics with high adventure' New Scientist'A travelogue that celebrates the blood, sweat and tears that drive our understanding of the universe' Guardian'Clean, elegant prose, humming with interest' Robert MacFarlane, author of The Wild Places'An accomplished and timely overview of modern cosmology and particle astrophysics' Nature'An excellent book. The author has a great knack of making difficult subjects comprehensible. I thoroughly enjoyed it' Sir Patrick Moore'Ananthaswamy displays a writer's touch for the fascinating detail... whether he is in an abandoned iron mine in Minnesota's Mesabi Range or the frigid Siberian expanse of Lake Baikal, he finds intrepid physicists and explains to us why these weird places are the only locations on the planet where these experiments could be done' Washington Post'Quite simply, the ultimate physics-adventure travelogue... as an adventure story and a fly-on-the-wall account of remote places that most of us will never visit, The Edge of Physics is brilliant' Physics World'A grand tour of modern day cosmology's sacred places... evocative... engaging... refreshing... a taste of science in the heroic mode' Sky At Night magazine'Smoothly weaves together the stories of people who help push science forward, from principal investigators to research institute gardeners, with exquisitely clear explanations of the questions they hope to solve - and why some research can be done only at the edge of the world' Science News'While Ananthaswamy... focuses heavily on the science, The Edge of Physics reads like a travel-adventure story or a work of fiction' Failure Magazine'From the top of Hawaii's Mauna Kea to Switzerland's Large Hadron Collider and more, Ananthaswamy paints a vivid picture of scientific investigations in harsh working conditions... even for readers who don't know a neutrino from Adam, these interesting tales of human endeavor make The Edge of Physics a trip worth taking' The BookPage'A stirring, scenic narrative... Ananthaswamy journeys to several geographically and scientifically extreme outposts, and returns not only with engaging portraits of the men and women who work there, but also a vibrant glimpse of how cutting-edge research is actually performed. Part history lesson, part travelogue, part adventure story, The Edge of Physics is a wonder-steeped page-turner' Seed Magazine'Physicists are trying to understand the furthest reaches of space and the furthest extremes of matter and energy. To do it, they have to trek to some of the furthest places on Earth from deep underground, to forbidding mountains, to the cold of Antarctica. Anil Anathaswamy takes us on a thrilling ride around the globe and around the cosmos, to reveal the real work that goes into understanding our universe' Sean Carroll, Caltech physicist and author of From Eternity to Here'Ananthaswamy's juxtaposition of extreme travel and extreme science offers a genuinely novel route into the story of modern cosmology... A well written and genuinely accessible tale of what it takes to push past the edge of human knowledge' Thomas Levenson, author of Newton and the Counterfeiter

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2020 British Psychological Society Popular Science PrizeWinner of the 2018 Royal Society Science Book Prize.........................................................................................Up to the minute brain science from a world class scientist. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore explains how the adolescent brain transforms as it develops and shapes the adults we become. 'Beautifully written with clarity, expertise and honesty about the most important subject for all of us. I couldn't put it down.' - Professor Robert Winston Drawing upon her cutting-edge research Professor Blakemore explores:· What makes the adolescent brain different? · Why does an easy child become a challenging teenager? · What drives the excessive risk-taking and the need for intense friendships common to teenagers? · Why it is that many mental illnesses - depression, addiction, schizophrenia - begin during these formative years.And she shows that while adolescence is a period of vulnerability, it is also a time of enormous creativity and opportunity.Trade ReviewThe best science writing helps us to look at ourselves and our world in new ways, and does this by combining compelling storytelling with scientific depth and detail. This book not only has all of these qualities, but also has something to offer every reader - whether you are a teenager, parent of a teenager, or just interested in understanding your former teenage self. -- Professor Brian CoxCompletely captivating ... Blakemore explains the science behind teenage behaviour in a lucid and engaging way, deconstructs the myths that surround it, offers new insight into how we should treat teenagers, and reflects on how our new knowledge might usefully influence policy decisions. …This is truly a book that everyone should read. -- Professor Dame Frances Ashcroft, chair of Royal Society Prize judges and professor of physiology at OxfordAbsolutely fascinating -- Louise Minchin * BBC Breakfast *An engaging and interesting book, written comprehensibly for a non-specialist audience. You will understand your children and your former selves better for reading it and you will bust a few myths as you go. * The Times *There are few people more qualified to explain [adolescence] than the author of this compelling book. What I enjoyed most about this book was the readability and personal style of the narrative. Blakemore manages to present a highly accessible account of the science, without ever compromising on detail or depth…there is almost a sense that the reader is in the lab, listening in on the discussions and taking part in the decisions….This book has something to offer everyone … Blakemore provides a unique and very up-to-date insight into the changes that occur during this intriguing period. -- Dr Catherine Loveday * The Psychologist *Refreshingly and reassuringly light and lucid in both tone and approach ...an enjoyable, accessible, and insightful book by an author at the top of her field. * The Lancet *A very readable book bringing together the up-to-date research about how the adolescent brain develops. This matters to both adolescents and parents but also should be read by everyone who looks after adolescents, be they teachers, doctors or psychologists. -- Professor Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer, Department of HealthInventing Ourselves is a gripping celebration of the teenage brain. Essential reading for parents, teachers and teens.Sane, wise, myth busting, this book is a triumph and should be read by every parent and teacher but they should be warned. They’ll have to fight their teenagers to get this gripping book out of their hands. -- Dr Vivienne Parry OBEThe teenage brain is different, but in what way? This beautifully written book tells just how it influences and is influenced by the new challenging demands of a transformational phase of life. There is no sensationalism here. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore is a pioneer in the field and provides a meticulous account of what we know. -- Professors Uta & Chris FrithInventing Ourselves is an accessible introduction bothto neuroscience and experimental psychology, coveringbasic research techniques while providing an overview ofrecent studies of adolescence that will be of interest evento someone familiar with these fields. This balance is inlarge part due to the author’s ability to explain nuancedexperiments with an infectious enthusiasm that engagesthe reader’s curiosity. Blakemore approaches the topic witha sympathy and respect for the adolescents she works withthat is genuinely admirable. For anyone looking back ontheir teenage years, trying to raise a teenager, or workingwith adolescents, this book can help foster understandingabout why adolescents act the way they do and how webecome our adult selves. -- Robert Stirrups * Lancet Neurology *

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Book SynopsisThis collection from scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winner highlights the achievements of a man whose career reshaped the world''s understanding of quantum electrodynamics. The Pleasure of Finding Things Out is a magnificent treasury of the best short works of Richard P. Feynman-from interviews and speeches to lectures and printed articles. A sweeping, wide-ranging collection, it presents an intimate and fascinating view of a life in science-a life like no other. From his ruminations on science in our culture to his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, this book will fascinate anyone interested in the world of ideas.

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.In a moment I was clutched by several hands, and there was no mistaking that they were trying to haul me back . . . You can scarce imagine how nauseatingly inhuman they looked those pale chinless faces and great, lidless, pinkish-grey eyes!An English scientist regales his dinner guests with the tale of his travels to the year 802,701, where he discovers that the human race has evolved into two distinct societies. The Eloi, elegant and peaceful, yet lacking spirit, are terrorised by the sinister, light-fearing Morlocks, who live underground, surrounded by industry. And when his time machine mysteriously vanishes, the scientist must descend to the realm of the Morlocks in order to find his only hope of escape . . .H. G. Wells is considered a founding father of modern science fiction, coining the term time machine' and popularising the idea of time travel in literature.Trade Review‘[Wells’ work is] astonishingly rich in human and historical interest … he foresaw the invention of, among other things, television, tanks, aerial warfare and the atom bomb’ David Lodge ‘[Wells] contrives to give over humanity into the clutches of the Impossible and yet manages to keep it down (or up) to its humanity, to its flesh, blood, sorrow, folly’ Joseph Conrad ‘I personally consider the greatest of English living writers [to be] H. G. Wells’ Upton Sinclair ‘The father of science fiction’ Guardian

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Book SynopsisOliver Sacks was born in 1933 in London and was educated at Queen's College, Oxford. He completed his medical training at San Francisco's Mount Zion Hospital and at UCLA before moving to New York, where he soon encountered the patients whom he would write about in his book Awakenings.Dr Sacks spent almost fifty years working as a neurologist and wrote many books, including The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Musicophilia, and Hallucinations, about the strange neurological predicaments and conditions of his patients. The New York Times referred to him as 'the poet laureate of medicine', and over the years he received many awards, including honours from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Royal College of Physicians. In 2008, he was appointed Commander of the British Empire. His memoir, On the Move, was published shortly before his death in August 2015.Trade ReviewWriting simply and beautifully, Sacks uses individual case histories to reveal the infinite complexities of the human mind. * Daily Mail *Sacks' great gift is his capacity to place himself in the position of his subjects, to see the world the way they see it and to empathize with their condition with great compassion but without patronage or pity. * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWhy is life the way it is? Bacteria evolved into complex life just once in four billion years of life on earth-and all complex life shares many strange properties, from sex to ageing and death. If life evolved on other planets, would it be the same or completely different? In The Vital Question, Nick Lane radically reframes evolutionary history, putting forward a cogent solution to conundrums that have troubled scientists for decades. The answer, he argues, lies in energy: how all life on Earth lives off a voltage with the strength of a bolt of lightning. In unravelling these scientific enigmas, making sense of life's quirks, Lane's explanation provides a solution to life's vital questions: why are we as we are, and why are we here at all? This is ground-breaking science in an accessible form, in the tradition of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, and Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel.Trade ReviewAn amazing inquiry into the origins of life. I loved it. -- Bill GatesHe is an original researcher and thinker and a passionate and stylish populariser. His theories are ingenious, breathtaking in scope, and challenging in every sense ... intellectually what Lane is proposing, if correct, will be as important as the Copernican revolution and perhaps, in some ways, even more so. -- Peter Forbes * Guardian *Nick Lane...is emerging as one of the most imaginative thinkers about the evolution of life on Earth...a scintillating synthesis of a new theory of life -- Clive Cookson * Financial Times *One of the deepest, most illuminating books about the history of life to have been published in recent years. * The Economist *One of the pleasures of good science writing is that it can awaken, or feed, this kind of curiosity and engagement in the reader, expanding his or her horizons in ways not previously imagined. And, for those willing to make the effort with a sometimes demanding but always clear text, Nick Lane's new book succeeds brilliantly ... I cannot recommend The Vital Question too highly. Lane's vivid descriptions and powerful reasoning will amaze and grip the reader -- Caspar Henderson * Sunday Telegraph *Nick Lane is not just a writer of words about science, he is also a doer of experiments and a thinker of thoughts. And these days he is hot on the trail of one of the biggest ideas in the universe: the meaning of the word "life". In this, his third book about energy and life, he comes triumphantly close to cracking the secret of why life is the way it is, to a depth that would boggle any ancient philosopher's mind. Solving this mystery leads Lane into a world of ideas that only Lewis Carroll could make sense of. Six impossible things become believable before breakfast when you are reading a Lane book, and there are plenty here... Like the best science writers, Lane never glosses over the detail. Instead he turns it into a series of detective stories. Poirot-like he leads you from the crime to the perpetrator, from the puzzle to the solution. The difference from a detective story is that these tales are real, and fundamental to life itself -- Matt Ridley * Times *this is a book of vast scope and ambition, brimming with bold and important ideas...The arguments are powerful and persuasive...If you're interested in life, you should read this book...it does tell an incredible, epic story -- Michael Le Page * New Scientist *Lane highlights what I think should be a fourth grand theory of life, one that is often overlooked as we remain bewitched by DNA and its several powers. Simply, the idea that life is a chemical reaction... The Vital Question is a bold, eloquent, confident book, and not an easy ride...Don't let that put you off; even The Origin of Species has its chewy sections. Like all great works, it requires effort, and Lane offers no quarter for the casual reader...Nick Lane is not only a master storyteller, but this is his research...he's that rare species, a scientist who can illuminate the bewildering complexities of biology with clear, luminous words -- Adam Rutherford * Observer *A tour de force of inventive science -- Philip Ball * Prospect *Intellectually thrilling -- Mark HaddonA potent book, one that not only brings you up to date with biology but also stuns you with the wonder of it all -- Bryan Appleyard * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisA bold, provocative exploration of the tension between our evolutionary history and our modern woes and what we can do about itWe are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history, yet we are listless, divided and miserable. Wealth and comfort are unparalleled, but our political landscape is unmoored, and rates of suicide, loneliness and chronic illness continue to skyrocket. How do we explain the gap between these truths? And how should we respond?For evolutionary biologists Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein, the cause of our woes is clear: the modern world is out of sync with our ancient brains and bodies. We evolved to live in clans, but today many people don''t even know their neighbours'' names.Survival in our earliest societies depended on living in harmony with nature, but today the food we eat, the work we do even the light we absorb is radically different from what our minds and bodies evolved to expect.In this book, Heying and Weinstein draw on decades of their work teaching in college classrooms and exploring earth's most biodiverse ecosystems to confront today's pressing social ills from widespread sleep deprivation and dangerous diets to damaging parenting styles and backward education practices. A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century outlines a science-based worldview that will empower you to live a better, wiser life.

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'Nerd royalty' BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' TIM HARFORD'Required reading across the world' NEW YORK TIMESFrom the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask.Millions visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. Fans ask him a lot of strange questions: How fast can you hit a speed bump, driving, and live? When (if ever) did the sun go down on the British Empire? When will Facebook contain more profiles of dead people than living? How many humans would a T Rex rampaging through New York need to eat a day?In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations and consults nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.Trade ReviewWith this book and with XKCD, you're a kid with a chemistry set all over again. [Randall Munroe's] enthusiasm for all things scientific is infectious . . . required reading for grown-ups, it's just fun to remember that science is really, really cool * REGISTER *With this book and with XKCD, you're a kid with a chemistry set all over again. [Randall Munroe's] enthusiasm for all things scientific is infectious . . . required reading for grown-ups, it's just fun to remember that science is really, really cool * REGISTER *With this book and with XKCD, you're a kid with a chemistry set all over again. [Randall Munroe's] enthusiasm for all things scientific is infectious . . . required reading for grown-ups, it's just fun to remember that science is really, really cool * REGISTER *Smart answers to silly questions: Randall Munroe reveals all * GUARDIAN *Smart answers to silly questions: Randall Munroe reveals all * GUARDIAN *Smart answers to silly questions: Randall Munroe reveals all * GUARDIAN *What If? maintains a delightfully free-wheeling tone throughout, especially when complicated calculations lead to whimsical results. Despite all the hard facts and gigantic numbers, it never feels like a textbook-and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy it * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY *What If? maintains a delightfully free-wheeling tone throughout, especially when complicated calculations lead to whimsical results. Despite all the hard facts and gigantic numbers, it never feels like a textbook-and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy it * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY *What If? maintains a delightfully free-wheeling tone throughout, especially when complicated calculations lead to whimsical results. Despite all the hard facts and gigantic numbers, it never feels like a textbook-and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to enjoy it * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY *The best bathroom book you'll ever buy...Munroe takes inane, useless and often quite pointless questions asked by real humans (mostly sent to him through his website), and turns them into beautiful expositions on the impossible that illuminate the furthest reaches, almost to the limits, of the modern sciences .The first chapter, "Q. What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?" ends with the anthropomorphized moon worrying over the state of the Earth, and, with the gravity generated by its own rotation around the Earth, saving our dying planet. The physics are real; so is the emotional content. . . The answers are all illustrated with xkcd's trademark stick figures.. . . . and these are eminently approachable * NEWSWEEK *The best bathroom book you'll ever buy...Munroe takes inane, useless and often quite pointless questions asked by real humans (mostly sent to him through his website), and turns them into beautiful expositions on the impossible that illuminate the furthest reaches, almost to the limits, of the modern sciences .The first chapter, "Q. What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?" ends with the anthropomorphized moon worrying over the state of the Earth, and, with the gravity generated by its own rotation around the Earth, saving our dying planet. The physics are real; so is the emotional content. . . The answers are all illustrated with xkcd's trademark stick figures.. . . . and these are eminently approachable * NEWSWEEK *The best bathroom book you'll ever buy...Munroe takes inane, useless and often quite pointless questions asked by real humans (mostly sent to him through his website), and turns them into beautiful expositions on the impossible that illuminate the furthest reaches, almost to the limits, of the modern sciences .The first chapter, "Q. What would happen if the Earth and all terrestrial objects suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere retained its velocity?" ends with the anthropomorphized moon worrying over the state of the Earth, and, with the gravity generated by its own rotation around the Earth, saving our dying planet. The physics are real; so is the emotional content. . . The answers are all illustrated with xkcd's trademark stick figures.. . . . and these are eminently approachable * NEWSWEEK *Brilliant * ROLLING STONE *Brilliant * ROLLING STONE *Brilliant * ROLLING STONE *What If? includes old favorites, new inquiries and the mix of expert research and accessible wit that has made Munroe a favorite among both geeks and laymen * TIME *What If? includes old favorites, new inquiries and the mix of expert research and accessible wit that has made Munroe a favorite among both geeks and laymen * TIME *What If? includes old favorites, new inquiries and the mix of expert research and accessible wit that has made Munroe a favorite among both geeks and laymen * TIME *Munroe's brilliant What-If? column-which features scientifically rigorous, utterly absurd answers to ridiculous hypotheticals-has been on the bestseller lists since it was announced in March. Today, it hits shelves and: It. Is. A. Triumph * BOINGBOING *Munroe's brilliant What-If? column-which features scientifically rigorous, utterly absurd answers to ridiculous hypotheticals-has been on the bestseller lists since it was announced in March. Today, it hits shelves and: It. Is. A. Triumph * BOINGBOING *Munroe's brilliant What-If? column-which features scientifically rigorous, utterly absurd answers to ridiculous hypotheticals-has been on the bestseller lists since it was announced in March. Today, it hits shelves and: It. Is. A. Triumph * BOINGBOING *[What If?] has solved my annual birthday-present and holiday-gift dilemmas for a large group of people . . . What makes Munroe's work so fantastic is a combination of two elements: his commitment to trying to answer even the weirdest question with solid science, and his undeniable sense of humour. So, here's a "What If?" from me: If everyone on the planet simultaneously bought a copy of this book, stopped what they were doing and read it cover to cover, would modern civilization and our global economy collapse? It's worth trying the experiment. * HUFFINGTON POST *[What If?] has solved my annual birthday-present and holiday-gift dilemmas for a large group of people . . . What makes Munroe's work so fantastic is a combination of two elements: his commitment to trying to answer even the weirdest question with solid science, and his undeniable sense of humour. So, here's a "What If?" from me: If everyone on the planet simultaneously bought a copy of this book, stopped what they were doing and read it cover to cover, would modern civilization and our global economy collapse? It's worth trying the experiment. * HUFFINGTON POST *[What If?] has solved my annual birthday-present and holiday-gift dilemmas for a large group of people . . . What makes Munroe's work so fantastic is a combination of two elements: his commitment to trying to answer even the weirdest question with solid science, and his undeniable sense of humour. So, here's a "What If?" from me: If everyone on the planet simultaneously bought a copy of this book, stopped what they were doing and read it cover to cover, would modern civilization and our global economy collapse? It's worth trying the experiment. * HUFFINGTON POST *For the record, I'm loving XKCD's What If -- 'Dear Abby for mad scientists' * NEIL GAIMAN *For the record, I'm loving XKCD's What If -- 'Dear Abby for mad scientists' * NEIL GAIMAN *For the record, I'm loving XKCD's What If -- 'Dear Abby for mad scientists' * NEIL GAIMAN *Munroe has hit on a wonderful form of science and engineering communication that can do so much-extolling the value of analytical thinking, examining data, and doing back-of-the-envelope calculations-while entertaining readers at the same time . . . an incredibly fun book with quirky, hand-drawn pictures * AMERICAN SCIENTIST *Munroe has hit on a wonderful form of science and engineering communication that can do so much-extolling the value of analytical thinking, examining data, and doing back-of-the-envelope calculations-while entertaining readers at the same time . . . an incredibly fun book with quirky, hand-drawn pictures * AMERICAN SCIENTIST *Munroe has hit on a wonderful form of science and engineering communication that can do so much-extolling the value of analytical thinking, examining data, and doing back-of-the-envelope calculations-while entertaining readers at the same time . . . an incredibly fun book with quirky, hand-drawn pictures * AMERICAN SCIENTIST *Thoughtful, scientific, and highly entertaining * PARADE *Thoughtful, scientific, and highly entertaining * PARADE *Thoughtful, scientific, and highly entertaining * PARADE *If you're the kind of person whose brain whizzes with questions, Munroe's book may calm the noise. He's done all the hard work for you * SHORTLIST *If you're the kind of person whose brain whizzes with questions, Munroe's book may calm the noise. He's done all the hard work for you * SHORTLIST *If you're the kind of person whose brain whizzes with questions, Munroe's book may calm the noise. He's done all the hard work for you * SHORTLIST *XKCD is nerd royalty, the alpha dork, there's no geek more widely cited and loved * BEN GOLDACRE, author of BAD SCIENCE *XKCD is nerd royalty, the alpha dork, there's no geek more widely cited and loved * BEN GOLDACRE, author of BAD SCIENCE *XKCD is nerd royalty, the alpha dork, there's no geek more widely cited and loved * BEN GOLDACRE, author of BAD SCIENCE *It's totally brilliant and everyone who matters already knows that! * TIM HARFORD, THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST *It's totally brilliant and everyone who matters already knows that! * TIM HARFORD, THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST *It's totally brilliant and everyone who matters already knows that! * TIM HARFORD, THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST *Education should aim to teach people to reason confidently about problems that they have never come across before. This book is a great deal of fun, and a masterclass in such reasoning. Like all the best lessons, you only realise you've learnt something once you've finished it * The Economist *Education should aim to teach people to reason confidently about problems that they have never come across before. This book is a great deal of fun, and a masterclass in such reasoning. Like all the best lessons, you only realise you've learnt something once you've finished it * The Economist *Education should aim to teach people to reason confidently about problems that they have never come across before. This book is a great deal of fun, and a masterclass in such reasoning. Like all the best lessons, you only realise you've learnt something once you've finished it * The Economist *Dangerously absorbing . . . if you have ever been gripped by an insatiable, preposterous intellectual curiosity (regardless of actual scientific knowledge), I could not think of a better book to keep you from doing that essay for an extra hour or two * Varsity *Dangerously absorbing . . . if you have ever been gripped by an insatiable, preposterous intellectual curiosity (regardless of actual scientific knowledge), I could not think of a better book to keep you from doing that essay for an extra hour or two * Varsity *Dangerously absorbing . . . if you have ever been gripped by an insatiable, preposterous intellectual curiosity (regardless of actual scientific knowledge), I could not think of a better book to keep you from doing that essay for an extra hour or two * Varsity *The reader is left constantly subject to outbursts of laughter, lin­gering doubts concerning the sanity of the human race, and an ever-growing fascination with the way our world and the universe works . . . Though science geeks will be the first to acknowledge Munroe's greatness, even people suffering from a chronic hatred towards anything concerned with math will find the humour and absurdity of What If? hard to resist * The Student *The reader is left constantly subject to outbursts of laughter, lin­gering doubts concerning the sanity of the human race, and an ever-growing fascination with the way our world and the universe works . . . Though science geeks will be the first to acknowledge Munroe's greatness, even people suffering from a chronic hatred towards anything concerned with math will find the humour and absurdity of What If? hard to resist * The Student *The reader is left constantly subject to outbursts of laughter, lin­gering doubts concerning the sanity of the human race, and an ever-growing fascination with the way our world and the universe works . . . Though science geeks will be the first to acknowledge Munroe's greatness, even people suffering from a chronic hatred towards anything concerned with math will find the humour and absurdity of What If? hard to resist * The Student *Funny and fascinating: brilliant for dinner with mates * Graeme le Saux *Funny and fascinating: brilliant for dinner with mates * Graeme le Saux *Funny and fascinating: brilliant for dinner with mates * Graeme le Saux *It will satisfy the curious and arouse curiosity in anyone who's not - and it's got great jokes * Irish Times *It will satisfy the curious and arouse curiosity in anyone who's not - and it's got great jokes * Irish Times *It will satisfy the curious and arouse curiosity in anyone who's not - and it's got great jokes * Irish Times *An essential holiday companion * Nature *An essential holiday companion * Nature *An essential holiday companion * Nature *

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Book SynopsisTHE PHENOMENAL SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ''Science writing at its best. If only chemistry had been like this at school'' Matt Ridley ____________________ Everything in the universe is made of them, including you. Like you, the elements have personalities, attitudes, talents, shortcomings, stories rich with meaning. Here you''ll meet iron that rains from the heavens and noble gases that light the way to vice. You''ll learn how lead can tell your future while zinc may one day line your coffin. You''ll discover what connects the bones in your body with the Whitehouse in Washington, the glow of a streetlamp with the salt on your dinner table. Unlocking their astonishing secrets and colourful pasts, Periodic Tales is a voyage of wonder and discovery, showing that their stories are inextricable from the stories of our own lives. ____________________ ''A love letter to the chemical elements. Aldersey-Williams is full of good stories and he knows how to tell them well'' Sunday Telegraph ''The history, science, art, literature and everyday applications of all the elements from aluminium to zinc'' The Times ''Great fun to read and an endless fund of unlikely and improbable anecdotes'' Financial TimesTrade ReviewScience writing at its best ... fascinating and beautiful ... if only chemistry had been like this at school ... to meander through the periodic table with him ... is like going round a zoo with Gerald Durrell ... a rich compilation of delicious tales, but it offers greater rewards, too -- Matt RidleyImmensely engaging and continually makes one sit up in ­surprise * Sunday Times *Splendid ... enjoyable and polished * Observer *Full of good stories and he knows how to tell them well ... an agreeable jumble of anecdote, reflection and information * Sunday Telegraph *Great fun to read and an endless fund of unlikely and improbable anecdotes ... sharp and often witty * Financial Times *A joyous romp through the chemical elements * Today, BBC Radio 4 *Not only a cultural history of the elements, it is also a lament to the loss of science as a hobby * Economist *A flashily brainy book, crammed with literary references and held together by a personal quest to collect as many elements as possible * Telegraph *'Elements are fun' is the essential premise of Hugh Aldersey-Williams's new book and by heck he's right ... Aldersey-Williams mourns the fact chemistry isn't really sexy any more; Periodic Tales is a step towards it getting its mojo back * Metro **** *Imaginative and fun ... almost every page yields a nugget * Nature *

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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).

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Book SynopsisThe Making of Mr Gray's Anatomy tells the story of one of the most iconic scientific books ever published: a textbook of anatomy that is still a household name 150 years since its first edition. It is the story of the remarkable and dedicated characters who created it, of poverty, class, and science and society in Victorian London.Trade ReviewFascinating. * Christopher Hirst, The Independent *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. The Words: Mr Gray of Belgravia ; 2. The Pictures: Dr Carter of Scarborough ; 3. The Enterprise: J.W.Parker & Son of West Strand ; 4. The Process of Creation: Person or Persons Unknown ; 5. The Raw Material: The Friendless Poor of London ; 6. The Process of Creation ; 7. The Process of Production ; 8. 1858: The Book Appears ; 9. Calamity ; 10. Futurity ; Acknowledgements ; References ; Bibliography ; Index

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Book SynopsisBrilliant and fascinating. No one is better at making the recondite accessible and exciting' Bill BrysonBritain's most famous mathematician takes us to the edge of knowledge to show us what we cannot know.Is the universe infinite?Do we know what happened before the Big Bang?Where is human consciousness located in the brain?And are there more undiscovered particles out there, beyond the Higgs boson?In the modern world, science is king: weekly headlines proclaim the latest scientific breakthroughs and numerous mathematical problems, once indecipherable, have now been solved. But are there limits to what we can discover about our physical universe?In this very personal journey to the edges of knowledge, Marcus du Sautoy investigates how leading experts in fields from quantum physics and cosmology, to sensory perception and neuroscience, have articulated the current lie of the land. In doing so, he travels to the very boundaries of understanding, questioning contradictory stories and consuTrade Review‘I felt I was being carried off on a wonderful journey, a thrilling research expedition to the teasing and mysterious boundaries of scientific knowledge, and I never wanted to turn back. Du Sautoy is a masterful and friendly guide to these remotest regions … It is absolutely fascinating throughout, and I really loved it’ Richard Holmes ‘I admire and envy the clarity and authority with which Marcus du Sautoy addresses a range of profound issues. His book deserves a wide readership’ Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal ‘I felt I was being carried off on a wonderful journey, a thrilling research expedition to the teasing and mysterious boundaries of scientific knowledge, and I never wanted to turn back. Du Sautoy is a masterful and friendly guide to these remotest regions … It is absolutely fascinating throughout, and I really loved it’ Richard Holmes ‘I admire and envy the clarity and authority with which Marcus du Sautoy addresses a range of profound issues. His book deserves a wide readership’ Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal ‘Du Sautoy makes a lucid and beguiling companion as he guides us along the byways of contemporary science’ Jonathan Ree, Guardian

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"With a focus on the 66 million years since the end-Cretaceous extinction stripped away all dinosaurs but birds, Mr. Prothero's book ably demonstrates that mammalian evolution has been just as circuitous and strange as that of the terrible lizards... [This book shows] the unexpected variety that life is capable of and raise[s] the question of what the next 235 million years will bring."--Brian Switek, Wall Street Journal "In The Princeton Field Guide to Prehistoric Mammals, author Donald Prothero ... introduces readers to an array of real-life, but seemingly fantastic beasts--extinct mammals."--Mindy Weisberger, LiveScience "Written by American paleontologist Donald Prothero and beautifully illustrated by renowned scientific illustrator Mary Persis Williams, this publication is a 'must have' for academics and fans of fossils as well as anyone with an interest in general science... Highly recommended."--Everything Dinosaur blog "One of the most important things about this book is that it is fully up to date, and thus, the only current mammalian evolutionary overview that is available, to my knowledge. In some areas of fossil mammal research there has been a lot of work over recent years, so this is important. I highly recommend this excellent book."--Greg Laden's BlogTable of ContentsPreface 6 1 The Age of Mammals 7 Dating Rocks 8 Clocks in Rocks 10 What's in a Name? 11 How Do We Classify Animals? 12 Bones vs Molecules 15 Bones and Teeth 15 2 The Origin and Early Evolution of Mammals 20 Synapsids (Protomammals or Stem Mammals) 20 Mammals in the Age of Dinosaurs 23 Morganucodonts 23 Docodonts 25 Monotremes (Platypus and Echidna) and Their Relatives 27 Multituberculates 30 Triconodonts 31 Theria 34 3 Marsupials: Pouched Mammals 37 Marsupial vs Placental 37 Marsupial Evolution 38 Ameridelphia 39 Australiadelphia 41 4 Placental Mammals (Eutheria) 47 The Interrelationships of Placentals 50 5 Xenarthra: Sloths, Anteaters, and Armadillos 51 Edentate vs Xenarthran 51 Order Cingulata (Armadillos) 53 Order Pilosa (Anteaters and Sloths) 55 6 Afrotheria: Elephants, Hyraxes, Sea Cows, Aardvarks, and Their Relatives 58 Tethytheres and Afrotheres 58 Order Proboscidea (Elephants, Mammoths, Mastodonts, and Their Relatives) 60 Order Sirenia (Manatees and Dugongs, or Sea Cows) 67 Order Embrithopoda (Arsinoitheres) 72 Order Desmostylia (Desmostylians) 73 Order Hyracoidea (Hyraxes) 75 Order Tubulidentata (Aardvarks) 77 Order Macroscelidia (Elephant Shrews) 78 Order Afrosoricida 79 7 Euarchontoglires: Euarchonta Primates, Tree Shrews, and Colugos 80 Archontans 80 Order Scandentia (Tree Shrews) 82 Order Dermoptera (Colugos, or Flying Lemurs) 82 Order Plesiadapiformes (Plesiadapids) 84 Order Primates (Euprimates) 86 8 Euarchontoglires: Glires Rodents and Lagomorphs 94 Chisel Teeth 94 Order Rodentia (Rodents) 95 Order Lagomorpha (Rabbits, Hares, and Pikas) 101 9 Laurasiatheria: Insectivores Order Eulipotyphla and Other Insectivorous Mammals 103 Order Eulipotyphla 103 Extinct Insectivorous Groups 107 10 Laurasiatheria: Chiroptera Bats 112 Bat Origins 114 11 Laurasiatheria: Pholidota Pangolins, or Scaly Anteaters 117 Order Pholidota (Pangolins) 118 Palaeanodonts 120 12 Laurasiatheria: Carnivora and Creodonta Predatory Mammals 122 Carnivores, Carnivorans, and Creodonts 122 Order Creodonta 124 Order Carnivora 127 13 Laurasiatheria: Ungulata Hoofed Mammals and Their Relatives 146 Condylarths 147 14 Laurasiatheria: Artiodactyla Even-Toed Hoofed Mammals: Pigs, Hippos, Whales, Camels, Ruminants, and Their Extinct Relatives 151 Artiodactyl Origins 153 Suoid Artiodactyls 154 Whippomorpha 160 Tylopods 169 Ruminantia 175 15 Laurasiatheria: Perissodactyla Odd-Toed Hoofed Mammals: Horses, Rhinos, Tapirs, and Their Extinct Relatives 186 Equoids 187 Tapiroids 191 Rhinocerotoids 196 Brontotheres, or Titanotheres 199 16 Laurasiatheria: Meridiungulata South American Hoofed Mammals 203 Order Notoungulata (Southern Ungulates) 205 Order Pyrotheria (Fire Beasts) 206 Order Astrapotheria (Lightning Beasts) 207 Order Litopterna (Litopterns, or Smooth Heels) 207 17 Uintatheres, Pantodonts, Taeniodonts, and Tillodonts 209 Order Dinocerata (Uintatheres) 209 Order Pantodonta (Pantodonts) 212 Order Taeniodonta (Taeniodonts) 214 Order Tillodontia (Tillodonts) 216 18 Mammalian Evolution and Extinction 218 Why Were Prehistoric Mammals So Big? 218 Where Have All the Megamammals Gone? 219 How Did Mammals Diversify after the Dinosaurs Vanished? 222 What about Mass Extinctions? 228 The Future of Mammals 229 Illustration Credits 231 Further Reading 232 Index (with Pronunciation Guide for Taxonomic Names) 234

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Book SynopsisNew updated and expanded edition of the groundbreaking book that ignited a firestorm in the scientific world with its radical approach to evolution • Explains how past forms and behaviors of organisms determine those of similar organisms in the present through morphic resonance • Reveals the nonmaterial connections that allow direct communication across time and space When A New Science of Life was first published the British journal Nature called it “the best candidate for burning there has been for many years.” The book called into question the prevailing mechanistic theory of life when its author, Rupert Sheldrake, a former research fellow of the Royal Society, proposed that morphogenetic fields are responsible for the characteristic form and organization of systems in biology, chemistry, and physics--and that they have measurable physical effects. Using his theory of morphic resonance, Sheldrake was able to reinterpret the regularities of nature as being more like habits than immutable laws, offering a new understanding of life and consciousness. In the years since its first publication, Sheldrake has continued his research to demonstrate that the past forms and behavior of organisms influence present organisms through direct immaterial connections across time and space. This can explain why new chemicals become easier to crystallize all over the world the more often their crystals have already formed, and why when laboratory rats have learned how to navigate a maze in one place, rats elsewhere appear to learn it more easily. With more than two decades of new research and data, Rupert Sheldrake makes an even stronger case for the validity of the theory of formative causation that can radically transform how we see our world and our future.

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