Popular science Books
Penguin Books Ltd The Science of Meditation
Book SynopsisDELVE INTO THE SCIENCE BEHIND YOUR PRACTICE WITH THIS ESSENTIAL AND PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MEDITATION ''This is a book that really can change your life'' Arianna Huffington, author of the New York Times bestseller The Sleep RevolutionMeditation is fascinating, but often it feels elusive. How can simple exercises change your mental state? How can focussing your breathing lead to changes in your personality? For the first time, Harvard collaborators Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson share the science behind the practice. Drawing on cutting edge research and sweeping away common misconceptions, they show how to improve your technique, how smart practice can cultivate selflessness, equanimity, love and compassion, and even redesign our neural circuitry.Whether you''re a beginner or have meditated for years, bring mindfulness and meditation into your life with an essential read for the world we live in now. ''A happy synthesis of the authors'' remarkable careers.'' Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living and Mindfulness for BeginnersTrade ReviewThis is a book that really can change your life. Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson not only show the power of meditation, but also the smartest way to practice for the maximum possible benefit. The Science of Meditation is your roadmap to a more mindful, compassionate, fulfilling life - who doesn't want that? -- Arianna Huffington, author of the ‘New York Times’ best seller ‘The Sleep Revolution’A happy synthesis of the authors' remarkable careers, which grew from the intuition they shared as students that there was something deep and transformative about meditation, The Science of Meditation tells the story of what has been discovered since and why it matters critically at this moment on the planet -- Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of 'Full Catastrophe Living' and 'Mindfulness for Beginners'The definitive book on the science of meditation. Rigorously researched and deeply illuminating, The Science of Meditation is a must-read for anyone interested in the hidden potential of the human mind -- Daniel Gilbert, PhD, author of the New York Times bestseller 'Stumbling on Happiness'This exquisite duet between a down-to-earth science writer and path-breaking neuroscientist is a tour-de-force, revealing how training the mind can transform the brain and our sense of self, inspiring us to create a greater sense of well-being, meaning, and connection in our world. Bravo! -- Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., author of the ‘New York Times’ best sellers, ‘Mind’ and ‘Brainstorm’Here is a message that is both powerful and joyful. Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson reveal groundbreaking science showing how mindfulness and compassion practices can help each of us individually and thus the entire planet. One of the most exciting books I have read! -- Chade-Meng Tan, author of the 'New York Times' bestsellers, 'Joy on Demand' and 'Search Inside Yourself'In this engaging and well-researched book, Goleman and Davidson help us sort out the many claims now being made about the benefits of meditation. Drawing on their own long personal meditative experience and the ever increasing number of scientific studies, The Science of Meditation breaks new ground in illuminating the power of meditation to transform our lives -- Joseph Goldstein, author of 'Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening'A remarkable collaboration between two brilliant and courageous pioneers, The Science of Meditation shares the scientific basis and practical realities of the remarkable impact meditation has on altering the mind. As I have personally experienced, regular meditation practice brings compassion, calm, and clarity for all of us, from beginners to experienced practitioners -- Bill George, Senior Fellow, Harvard Business School; former Chair & CEO, Medtronic; and author of 'Discover Your True North'Impressive in its scope and depth, staggering in its implications -- Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD on 'Emotional Intelligence'Don't miss this smart and lively book by the world's foremost expert on emotion and the brain -- Daniel Gilbert, PhD on 'The Emotional Life of Your Brain'Goleman uses the emerging science of neuro-sociology to show how priming our brains for meaningful connectivity with others can make the world a better place . . . Fascinating * Sunday Telegraph on 'Social Intelligence' *Sure to provoke oodles of debate about declining attention spans in the young * Bookseller on 'Focus' *
£10.44
Oneworld Publications Gulp: Travels Around the Gut
Book SynopsisFor fans of Gut by Giulia Enders Eating is the most pleasurable, gross, necessary, unspeakable biological process we undertake. But very few of us realise what strange wet miracles of science operate inside us after every meal – let alone have pondered the results (of the research). How have physicists made crisps crispier? What do laundry detergent and saliva have in common? Was self-styled ‘nutritional economist’ Horace Fletcher right to persuade millions of people that chewing a bite of shallot seven hundred times would yield double the vitamins? In her trademark, laugh-out-loud style, Mary Roach breaks bread with spit connoisseurs, beer and pet-food tasters, stomach slugs, potato crisp engineers, enema exorcists, rectum-examining prison guards, competitive hot dog eaters, Elvis' doctor, and many more as she investigates the beginning, and the end, of our food.Trade Review‘A wonderful nonfiction read…The journalism is gripping and the writing is intensely funny. If biology had been like this at school, my life would have taken a different path’. -- Viv Groskop * Observer, Hidden Gems of 2016 *‘The funniest book [of the year] by far... almost every page made me laugh out loud.’ * Sunday Times, Best Science Books of 2013 *‘Witty, illuminating and at times astonishing.’ * Mail on Sunday *‘Witty [and] enjoyable’ * Independent on Sunday *‘The best kind of lavatory reading… exhaustive and irreverent’ * Sunday Telegraph, paperback review *‘Mary Roach is a science writer who looks very closely at normal things — and close up, lots of things look weird or horrifying… The bit you will talk about most is how prisoners hide things up their bottoms’ * Evening Standard *'Far away her funniest and most sparkling book' * New York Times *‘Engrossingly gross’ * Scotsman *'The best kind of lavatory reading' * Sunday Telegraph *'Insightful, sharp science writing that will have you snorting with laughter is Mary Roach's speciality' * New Scientist *‘Disgustingly good... Roach takes a superbly witty prod at our innards.’ * The Times *'Roach writes clearly, with gallows humour...compelling' * Evening Standard *'A wonderful read' * BBC Focus *'Joyously funny and intrepidly smart' * Saga *
£10.79
Penguin Books Ltd Sync The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order
Book SynopsisPresents the story of order in the universe, the harmony that comes from cycles in sync. This book considers a range of applications - human sleep and circadian rhythms, menstrual synchrony, insect outbreaks, superconductors, Lasers, secret codes, heart arrhythmias and fads.
£10.44
Icon Books Introducing Darwin: A Graphic Guide
Book SynopsisProgress in genetics today would not be possible without Darwin's revolution, but the mysterious man who laid the rational basis for undermining belief in God's creation was remarkable timid. He spent most of his life in seclusion; a semi-invalid, riddled with doubts, fearing the controversy his theories might unleash.In this brilliantly lucid book - a classic originally published in 1982 - Jonathan Miller unravels Darwin's life and his contribution to biology, and traces the path from his scientific predecessors to the later modifications that his own evolutionary theories required.Introducing Darwin brings alive the difficult progress from pre-Darwinian thinking to modern genetics and the devastatingly important impact of one man on our fundamental understanding of biology, life and ourselves.Trade ReviewMiller and Van Loon have brought to life an important chapter of scientific history - a real achievement.' * New Scientist *
£7.59
The New Press Our Daily Poison
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Michael O'Mara Books Ltd The One Thing You Need to Know: The Simple Way to
Book SynopsisFrom gravity to black holes, special relativity to global warming, this authoritative and entertaining book from bestselling author Marcus Chown breaks down complex science into manageable chunks, explaining the one thing you really need to know to get to grips with the subject.Rather than trying to bend your mind around all the vast and confounding details of things such as gravitational waves, electricity and black holes, wouldn’t it be easier to understand just one central concept from which everything else follows?If you’ve ever found yourself fascinated by the idea of quantum computing but feel a little overwhelmed by the mindblowing subject of quantum mechanics or concerned by climate change but haven’t been able to get to grips with the details of global warming, this book is for you. Let’s take atoms, for example – what on earth are they? Well, if you start to think of them less like things you can’t see with complex little nuclei and more like the alphabet of nature, which in different configurations can make a rose, a galaxy or a newborn baby, they might start to feel a little more understandable. Or gravitational waves – they sound poetic, but why are they creating so much excitement? Think of them as the voice of space, vibrations on the drumskin of space-time – before delving into all their complexities. In twenty-one short and engaging chapters, Chown explains the one thing you need to know to understand some of the most important scientific ideas of our time. Packed full of astounding facts, scientific history and the entertaining personalities at the heart of the most pivotal discoveries about the workings of our universe, this is an accessible guide to all the tricky stuff you’ve always wanted to understand more about.
£16.17
Royal Society of Chemistry Chemistry of Fragrances
Book SynopsisModern perfumery is a blend of art, science and technology, with chemistry being the central science involved. The Chemistry of Fragrances aims to educate and entertain, and inform the audience of the very latest chemistry, techniques and tools applied to fragrance creativity. Beginning with the history of perfumes, which goes back over fifty thousand years, the book goes on to discuss the structure of the Perfume Industry today. The focus then turns to an imaginary brief to create a perfume, and the response to it, including that of the chemist and the creative perfumer. Consumer research, toxicological concerns, and the use of the electronic nose are some of the topics discussed on this journey of discovery. Written by respected experts in their fields, this unique book gives an insider view of mixing molecules from behind the portals of modern-day alchemy. It will be enjoyed by chemists and marketeers at all levels.Trade ReviewA concise approach to cover the multi-facets of the science of fragrance...as a useful introduction to the chemistry of fragrance. -- Chemistry and Industry, 9 July 2007 (Thomas McGee) Chemistry and Industry The authors are able to demonstrate that the chemistry of such tiny fragrant molecules can be very fascinating...the book is a must for anyone with an interest in fragrances. It is simply fascinating!! -- Flavour and Fragrance Journal, 2008, 23:66 (Gerhard Buchbauer) Flavour and Fragrance JournalTable of ContentsA Home Full of Fragrance; The History of Aroma Chemistry and Perfume; Perfumery Materials of Natural Origin; Ingredients for the Modern Perfumery Industry; The Structure of an International Fragrance Company; The Fragrance Brief; Perfume Creation - The Role of the Perfumer; Measurement of Fragrance Perception; Application of Fragrances; The Safety and Toxicology of Fragrances; Volatility and Substantivity; Natural Product Analysis in the Fragrance Industry; Chemoreception; Electronic Odour Sensing; The Quest for Novel Aroma Chemicals; Brief Submission; Epilogue; Glossary of Terms; Bibliography; Index; Useful Addresses; Djinn's Lamp.
£42.53
Transworld Publishers Ltd A Short History of Nearly Everything
Book SynopsisBill Bryson describes himself as a reluctant traveller: but even when he stays safely in his own study at home, he can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. It's not so much about what we know, as about how we know what we know.Trade ReviewPossibly the best scientific primer ever published. * Economist *Mr Bryson has a natural gift for clear and vivid expression. I doubt that a better book for the layman about the findings of modern science has been written * Sunday Telegraph *A fascinating idea, and I can't think of many writers, other than Bryson, who would do it this well. It's the sort of book I would have devoured as a teenager. It might well turn unsuspecting young readers into scientists. And the famous, slightly cynical humour is always there * Evening Standard *A genuinely useful and readable book. There is a phenomenal amount of fascinating information packed between its covers ... A thoroughly enjoyable, as well as educational, experience. Nobody who reads it will ever look at the world around them in the same way again * Daily Express *Of course, there are people much better qualified than Bill Bryson to attempt a project of this magnitude. None of them, however, can write fluent Brysonese, which, as pretty much the entire Western reading public now knows, is an appealing mixture of self-deprecation, wryness and punnery * Spectator *
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Ideological Brain
Book SynopsisWhy do some people become radicalized?Who is most susceptible to ideological thinking?Can we unchain our minds from toxic dogmas?'Filled with insightful findings, this book shows that ideological extremism and polarization are not just problems to fret about but puzzles that can be studied and understood'Steven PinkerThe human brain faces a set of dilemmas every day: how to achieve coherence from fragmented sensory inputs and how to attain connection with other people in an increasingly atomized and isolating world. Ideologies offer a shortcut, providing easy answers, scripts to follow, and a sense of shared identity. Whether our ideologies are far-right, far-left, nationalist, religious, or even progressive, they simplify our understanding and give us organizing frameworks through which to act and interact with others. But ideologies come at a cost: demanding conformity and suppressing individuality through rigid rules, repeti
£17.02
HarperCollins Publishers Human Universe
Book SynopsisTop ten Sunday Times BestsellerEngaging, ambitious and creative' GuardianWhere are we? Are we alone? Who are we? Why are we here? What is our future?Human Universe tackles some of the greatest questions that humans have asked to try and understand the very nature of ourselves and the Universe in which we live.Through the endless leaps of human minds, it explores the extraordinary depth of our knowledge today and where our curiosity may lead us in the future. With groundbreaking insight it reveals how time, physics and chemistry came together to create a creature that can wonder at its own existence, blessed with an unquenchable thirst to discover not just where it came from, but how it can think, where it is going and if it is alone.Accompanies the acclaimed BBC TV series.Trade ReviewPraise for Professor Brian Cox: ‘Cox’s romantic, lyrical approach to astrophysics all adds up to an experience that feels less like homework and more like having a story told to you. A really good story, too.’ Guardian ‘He bridges the gap between our childish sense of wonder and a rather more professional grasp of the scale of things.’ Independent ‘If you didn’t utter a wow watching the TV, you will while reading the book.’ The Times ‘In this book of the acclaimed BBC2 TV series, Professor Cox shows us the cosmos as we have never seen it before – a place full of the most bizarre and powerful natural phenomena.’ Sunday Express ‘Will entertain and delight … what a priceless gift that would be.’ Independent on Sunday
£22.50
Oxford University Press The Emerald Planet How plants changed Earths
Book SynopsisPlants have profoundly moulded the Earth''s climate and the evolutionary trajectory of life. Far from being ''silent witnesses to the passage of time'', plants are dynamic components of our world, shaping the environment throughout history as much as that environment has shaped them.In The Emerald Planet, David Beerling puts plants centre stage, revealing the crucial role they have played in driving global changes in the environment, in recording hidden facets of Earth''s history, and in helping us to predict its future. His account draws together evidence from fossil plants, from experiments with their living counterparts, and from computer models of the ''Earth System'', to illuminate the history of our planet and its biodiversity. This new approach reveals how plummeting carbon dioxide levels removed a barrier to the evolution of the leaf; how plants played a starring role in pushing oxygen levels upwards, allowing spectacular giant insects to thrive in the Carboniferous; and it strengthens fascinating and contentious fossil evidence for an ancient hole in the ozone layer. Along the way, Beerling introduces a lively cast of pioneering scientists from Victorian times onwards whose discoveries provided the crucial background to these and the other puzzles.This understanding of our planet''s past sheds a sobering light on our own climate-changing activities, and offers clues to what our climatic and ecological futures might look like. There could be no more important time to take a close look at plants, and to understand the history of the world through the stories they tell.Oxford Landmark Science books are ''must-read'' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.Trade ReviewA fascinating insight into the way life -- especially plants -- evolved on our planet. * Jonathan Cowie, Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation *Review from previous edition Within these pages is one of the greatest stories ever told... It is as fascinating as it is important. * New Scientist *Here at last is David Beerling as the Green Knight, revealing the extraordinary story of the construction of our emerald planet. Rigorous science joins hands with an enthusiastic delivery to re-awaken our fascination in plants, while engaging anecdotes provide a thrilling background to an extraordinary story of climate change and our current environmental crisis. * Simon Conway Morris (author of Life's Solution) *Beerling gives us the big picture of how plants have changed our planet - and poses the key question of how we will manage the emerald planet to ensure the kind of future we desire. * Sir Peter Crane (Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1999-2006) *If I can find a fault with this book it is that each subsequent chapter is so engrossing that it drives the author's previous deliberations from my head... I will return to this book again and again. * Lyn Dunachie, Glasgow Natural History Society *David Beerling's book is both fascinating and important. * P D Smith, The Guardian *An illuminating account of the ways "greenhouse gases, genes, and geochemistry" are linked. * P D Smith, The Guardian *My favourite non-fiction book this year...[a] highly readable history of the last half-billion years on earth * Oliver Sacks, Observer Books of the Year *David Beerling tells two stories in parallel. Both are eloquently and engagingly merged in a scholarly, yet generally accessible book...Beerling provides for the reader a fascinating history of the discovery of fossils and the inferences drawn from them...this book is a wonderful example of the nascent field of Earth systems science. * Paul Falkowski, Nature *...of great value and relevance to all interested in plants, climate and, equally, the future of our 'emerald planet'. * John MacLeod, RHS Professor of Horticulture, Garden *David Beerling's fascinating new book offers a new global perspective on the evolution of our planet...[a] vivid account...The environmental legacy of the plant kingdom upon our world can only be better appreciated after reading this book. * Louis Ronse De Craene *A beautifully detailed account...a gorgeous book. * Steven Poole, The Guardian (Review) *[A] fascinating overview of green evolution. * Karl Dallas, Morning Star *Within these pages is one of the greatest stories ever told ... It is as fascinating as it is important. * New Scientist *The Emerald Planet is a serious talking-to about why plants must not be ignored. * Jonathan Silvertown, TLS *Table of ContentsPreface 1: Introduction 2: Leaves, genes, and greenhouse gases 3: Oxygen and the lost world of giants 4: An ancient ozone catastrophe? 5: Global warming ushers in the dinosaur era 6: The flourishing forests of Antarctica 7: Paradise lost 8: Nature's green revolution 9: Through a glass darkly Notes Index
£12.34
Random House USA Inc Cosmos
Book SynopsisRETURNING TO TELEVISION AS AN ALL-NEW MINISERIES ON FOXCosmos is one of the bestselling science books of all time. In clear-eyed prose, Sagan reveals a jewel-like blue world inhabited by a life form that is just beginning to discover its own identity and to venture into the vast ocean of space. Featuring a new Introduction by Sagan’s collaborator, Ann Druyan, full color illustrations, and a new Foreword by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos retraces the fourteen billion years of cosmic evolution that have transformed matter into consciousness, exploring such topics as the origin of life, the human brain, Egyptian hieroglyphics, spacecraft missions, the death of the Sun, the evolution of galaxies, and the forces and individuals who helped to shape modern science.Praise for Cosmos “Magnificent . . . With a lyrical literary style, and a range that touches almost all aspects of human knowledge, Cosmos<
£17.09
Oxford University Press The Planet in a Pebble
Book SynopsisThis is the story of a single pebble. It is just a normal pebble, as you might pick up on holiday - on a beach in Wales, say. Its history, though, carries us into abyssal depths of time, and across the farthest reaches of space. This is a narrative of the Earth''s long and dramatic history, as gleaned from a single pebble. It begins as the pebble-particles form amid unimaginable violence in distal realms of the Universe, in the Big Bang and in supernova explosions and continues amid the construction of the Solar System. Jan Zalasiewicz shows the almost incredible complexity present in such a small and apparently mundane object. Many events in the Earth''s ancient past can be deciphered from a pebble: volcanic eruptions; the lives and deaths of extinct animals and plants; the alien nature of long-vanished oceans; and transformations deep underground, including the creations of fool''s gold and of oil. Zalasiewicz demonstrates how geologists reach deep into the Earth''s past by forensic analysis of even the tiniest amounts of mineral matter. Many stories are crammed into each and every pebble around us. It may be small, and ordinary, this pebble - but it is also an eloquent part of our Earth''s extraordinary, never-ending story.Trade ReviewA mind-expanding, awe inducing but friendly scientific exploration of the history * Holly Kyte, The Sunday Telegraph *Table of ContentsPrologue ; 1. Stardust ; 2. From the Depths of the Earth ; 3. Distant Lands ; 4. To the Rendezvous ; 5. The Sea ; 6. Ghosts Observed ; 7. Ghosts in Absentia ; 8. Where on Earth? ; 9. Gold! ; 10. The Oil Window ; 11. Making Mountains ; 12. Breaking the Surface ; 13. Futures
£11.39
Swift Press The War on Science
£18.75
Oneworld Publications Think Like An Engineer: Inside the Minds that are
Book SynopsisDiscover the secrets of the minds that built our world – and how they might teach us to think differently and innovate better. 'Smart, insightful, and fascinating.' Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building – looks nothing like Microsoft’s Office Suite, and digital surround sound doesn’t work like a citywide telecommunication grid. Yet these engineering feats have much in common: they are the result of a unique thinking process combining abstract and structured thinking, common sense and great imagination. They are born of the engineering mindset. In this groundbreaking and lively work, Guru Madhavan reveals the extraordinary influence of engineering on society, not just today but throughout history. Drawing on a cast of star engineers like Steve Jobs, the Wright brothers and Thomas Edison, Madhavan explores aspects of this mindset and shows its usefulness to life and business – in areas as varied as traffic congestion to health care to filmmaking. Full of case studies and practical insights spanning the brilliant history of engineering, Think Like an Engineer is in equal parts personal, practical, and profound. It reveals how key engineering concepts can help you make better decisions and create innovative solutions in a complex world.Trade Review‘Smart, insightful, and fascinating. Madhavan shows how engineers turn problems into opportunities. The engineering mindset is something we should all study and embrace. It applies to every aspect of life.’ -- Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography“Guru Madhavan not only dispels any hint of darkness concerning how engineers think, his delightful book explains how the designed world of machines and systems interacts with the social world in which we use the tools that engineers give us.” -- Alvin Roth, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and author of Who Gets What—and Why"Think Like an Engineer will enlighten you about the minds that transform our lives. It beautifully conveys the true vision of engineering and its impact on nearly every aspect of life and global progress. This book is refreshing, most approachable, and highly recommended for anyone interested in understanding engineering." -- C.D. MOTE, Jr., President, US National Academy of Engineering“Guru Madhavan offers a compelling explanation of the engineering perspective. With potent stories that are heartwarming and at times heartrending, Think Like An Engineer is an enjoyable and instructive read.” -- Vinton Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist, Google; Winner of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering“The engineering mindset is a transformational mindset. In deftly revealing some of its organizing principles, this book reminds us that behind today’s global challenges are solutions and opportunities waiting to be realized.” -- Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum"This thoroughly engaging book demonstrates that engineering thinking is truly multidisciplinary, multinational, and multicultural. Through its diverse cast of engineers and wide-ranging examples of their achievements, Think Like An Engineer leaves little doubt that our world is a better place because of the engineers who inhabit it." -- Henry Petroski, Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and Professor of History, Duke University; author of To Engineer Is Human and The Essential Engineer
£10.44
Oneworld Publications How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog
Book SynopsisThe international bestseller from the author of Breakfast with Einstein Emmy is no ordinary dog. When adopted from the shelter by physics professor Chad Orzel, she becomes immediately fascinated by his work. Could she use quantum tunnelling to get through the neighbour’s fence? How about diffracting round a tree to chase squirrels? Or using virtual particles to catch bunnies made of cheese? Taking Emmy’s anarchic behaviour as a starting point, Orzel explains the key theories of quantum physics. From quarks and gluons to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, this is a uniquely entertaining way to unlock the secrets of the universe.Trade Review‘Elegantly approachable descriptions...with a refreshing emphasis on recent research. Highly satisfying.’ * Guardian *‘Sure to become a classic.’ * physicsworld.com *‘Quantum entanglement, quantum teleportation and virtual particles are all explained with the author’s characteristic lighthearted touch. Readers who've shied away from popular treatments of physics in the past may find his cheerful discussion a real treat.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘It’s hard to imagine a better way to grasp basic quantum physics.’ * Booklist *
£8.99
Abrams What Is Color
Book Synopsis
£15.29
Guardian Faber Publishing Emotional Ignorance: Misadventures in the Science
Book SynopsisRecommended by the New Scientist.'Brilliant.' Stylist'Thoughtful and thought-provoking - you need to read this book' Gina Rippon'An affecting and illuminating book for anyone who has feelings, and who wants to know why.' Katie MackEmotions can be a pain. After losing his dad to Covid-19, Dean Burnett found himself wondering what life would be like without them. And so, he decided to put his feelings under the microscope - for science.In Emotional Ignorance, Dean takes us on an incredible journey of discovery, stretching from the origins of life to the end of the universe. Along the way he reveals:- why we would ever follow our gut;- whether things really were better in the old days;- why doomscrolling is so addictive;- and how sad music can make us happier.Combining expert analysis, brilliant humour and powerful insights into the grieving process, Dean uncovers how, far from holding us back, our emotions make us who we are.Readers love Emotional Ignorance:'Intriguing, illuminating and thought-provoking.''A fascinating exploration of our emotions and how they enhance all of our lives (and why it doesn't always feel that way).''A scientific book about emotions that causes emotions. A wonder indeed.'
£9.49
Oxford University Press Oxygen The molecule that made the world Oxford
Book SynopsisOxygen has had extraordinary effects on life. Three hundred million years ago, in Carboniferous times, dragonflies grew as big as seagulls, with wingspans ofnearly a metre. Researchers claim they could have flown only if the air had contained more oxygen than today -probably as much as 35 per cent. Giant spiders, tree-ferns, marine rock formations and fossil charcoalsall tell the same story. High oxygen levels may also explain the global firestorm that contributed to thedemise of the dinosaurs after the asteroid impact. The strange and profound effects that oxygen has had on the evolution of life pose a riddle, which this booksets out to answer. Oxygen is a toxic gas. Divers breathing pure oxygen at depth suffer from convulsionsand lung injury. Fruit flies raised at twice normal atmospheric levels of oxygen live half as long as theirsiblings. Reactive forms of oxygen, known as free radicals, are thought to cause ageing in people. Yet ifatmospheric oxygen reached 35 per cent in the Carboniferous, why did it promote exuberant growth,instead of rapid ageing and death? Oxygen takes the reader on an enthralling journey, as gripping as a thriller, as it unravels the unexpectedways in which oxygen spurred the evolution of life and death. The book explains far more than the size ofancient insects: it shows how oxygen underpins the origin of biological complexity, the birth of photosynthesis, the sudden evolution of animals, the need for two sexes, the accelerated ageing of cloned animals like Dolly the sheep, and the surprisingly long lives of bats and birds. Drawing on this grand evolutionary canvas, Oxygen offers fresh perspectives on our own lives and deaths,explaining modern killer diseases, why we age, and what we can do about it. Advancing revelatory new ideas,following chains of evidence, the book ranges through many disciplines, from environmental sciences tomolecular medicine. The result is a captivating vision of contemporary science and a humane synthesis of ourplace in nature. This remarkable book might just redefine the way we think about the world.Oxford Landmark Science books are ''must-read'' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.Trade Review'. . . popular science writing at its very best - clear yet challenging, speculative yet rigorous. The book is a tour de force which orchestrates a seamless story out of both venerable ideas and very recent discoveries in several disparate fields.' * Bernard Dixon *'. . . a breathtaking, broad vision of the role of a single gas in our life, from the origin of organisms, through the emergence of creatures, and to their deaths . . . packed full of interesting life-and-death stories...A wonderful read.' * Peter Atkins *'. . . one of the most thought-provoking books I have ever read.' * John Emsley *Nick Lane's chapters are dispatches from the frontiers of research into Earth and life history, but they contain nothing that will lose the patient reader and much that will reward. * The Guardian Review *a brisk revelatory study * Christopher Hirst, The Independent *. . . Nick Lane marshals an impressive array of evidence - [an] ambitious narrative . . . This is science writing at its best. * Jerome Burne, The Financial Times *Table of Contents1: Introduction: Elixir of Life - and Death 2: In the Beginning: The Origins and Importance of Oxygen 3: Silence of the Aeons: Three Billion Years of Microbial Evolution 4: Fuse to the Cambrian Explosion: Snowball Earth, Environmental Change and the First Animals 5: The Bolsover Dragonfly: Oxygen and the Rise of the Giants 6: Treachery in the Air: Oxygen Poisoning and X-Irradiation: A Mechanism in Common 7: Green Planet: Radiation and the Beginnings of Photosynthesis 8: Looking for LUCA: Last Ancestor in the Age Before Oxygen 9: Portrait of a Paradox: Vitamin C and the Many Faces of an Antioxidant 10: The Antioxidant Machine: A Hundred and One Ways of Living with Oxygen 11: Sex and the Art of Bodily Maintenance: Trade-offs in the Evolution of Ageing 12: Eat! Or You'll Live Forever: The Triangle of Food, Sex, and Longevity 13: Gender Bender: The Rate of Living and the Need for Sexes 14: Beyond Genes and Destiny: The Double Agent Theory of Ageing and Disease 15: Life, Death and Oxygen: Lessons From Evolution on the Future of Ageing Further Reading Glossary Index
£11.39
Icon Books Introducing Stephen Hawking: A Graphic Guide
Book Synopsis'An ideal introduction [to Stephen Hawking]' - Independent 'Astonishingly comprehensive - clearer than Hawking himself' - Focus Stephen Hawking was a world-famous physicist with a cameo in The Simpsons on his CV, but outside of his academic field his work was little understood. To the public he was a tragic figure - a brilliant scientist and author of the 9 million-copy-selling A Brief History of Time, and yet spent the majority of his life confined to a wheelchair and almost completely paralysed. Hawking's major contribution to science was to integrate the two great theories of 20th-century physics: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. J.P. McEvoy and Oscar Zarate's brilliant graphic guide explores Hawking's life, the evolution of his work from his days as a student, and his breathtaking discoveries about where these fundamental laws break down or overlap, such as on the edge of a Black Hole or at the origin of the Universe itself.Trade Review'An ideal introduction' -- Independent'Astonishingly comprehensive - clearer than Hawking himself' -- Focus
£5.99
Oxford University Press Physical Chemistry
Book SynopsisWith the development of a variety of exciting new areas of research involving computational chemistry, nano- and smart materials, and applications of the recently discovered graphene, there can be no doubt that physical chemistry is a vitally important field. It is also perceived as the most daunting branch of chemistry, being necessarily grounded in physics and mathematics and drawing as it does on quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and statistical thermodynamics.With his typical clarity and hardly a formula in sight, Peter Atkins'' Very Short Introduction explores the contributions physical chemistry has made to all branches of chemistry. Providing an insight into its central concepts Atkins reveals the cultural contributions physical chemistry has made to our understanding of the natural world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewThe collection A Very Short Introduction from Oxford University Press is directed to people who want a stimulating and accessible way into a new subject. From this perspective, Peter Atkins has successfully met the collection's goal. In his characteristic clear style, he walks us through a short but rather interesting journey through the core ideas that form the conceptual infrastructure of physical chemistry. This intellectual trip takes the reader through different levels at which physicochemical models describe, explain, and predict the structure and properties of matter. From the subatomic world to the macroscopic scale; from single-particle to multi-particle systems; from the theoretical realm to the experimental setting. * Science & Education *[Physical Chemistry: A Very Short Introduction] is carefully written and captures the breadth of the subject. * Chemistry World *An exemplary book, both for those who, like me, want to refresh and modernize his obsolete knowledge, and for those (students, pupils) whom you will introduce into this fascinating subject. Without any reserve: cordially recommended! * Hans Bouma, NVOX *Table of ContentsPreface ; 1. Matter from the inside ; 2. Matter from the outside ; 3. Bridging matter ; 4. States of matter ; 5. Changing the state of matter ; 6. Changing the identity of matter ; 7. Investigating matter ; Further reading ; Index
£9.49
Penguin Books Ltd The Brains Way of Healing
Book Synopsis''This is a book of miracles. Fascinating... An absorbing compendium of unlikely recoveries from physical and mental ailments offers evidence that the brain can heal... brings Oliver Sacks to mind'' Lisa Appignanesi, ObserverThe Brain''s Way of Healing explores the astonishing advances in the discovery of neuroplasticity, showing that the brain has its own unique way of healing, only recently uncovered. Norman Doidge discusses a series of remarkable recoveries: patients told they would never improve have years of chronic pain alleviated or damage from debilitating strokes undone, and symptoms of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson''s disease, brain injury, autism or learning disorders are reversed. He also shows how the risk of dementia can be lowered by 60%. Using stories to present cutting-edge science, Doidge illustrates principles that everyone can apply to improve their brain''s performance.Trade ReviewExhilarating science... In an era of ever-increasing medicalisation of the human mind, and the medication of it, the appeal of neuroplasticity outlined by Doidge is addictive. It is inspiring, page-turning stuff -- V.S. Ramachandran, neurologist and neuroscientist, author of 'The Tell-Tale Brain', Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition UCSD * Sunday Times *Brilliant and highly original. The book is a treasure-trove of the author's own deep insights and a clear bright light of optimism shines through every page -- V.S. Ramachandran, neurologist and neuroscientist, author of 'The Tell-Tale Brain', Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition UCSDBold, remarkable . . . paradigm challenging. The Brain's Way of Healing is brilliantly organized, scientifically documented, and a beautifully written narrative that captivates the reader, who is left with the profound message that the brain, similar to other organs, can heal -- Stephen W. Porges, author of 'The Polyvagal Theory'
£10.44
Profile Books Ltd Adventures in Human Being
Book SynopsisSunday Times bestseller We have a lifetime's association with our bodies, but for many of us they remain uncharted territory. In Adventures in Human Being, Gavin Francis leads the reader on a journey through health and illness, offering insights on everything from the ribbed surface of the brain to the secret workings of the heart and the womb; from the pulse of life at the wrist to the unique engineering of the foot. Drawing on his own experiences as a doctor and GP, he blends first-hand case studies with reflections on the way the body has been imagined and portrayed over the millennia. If the body is a foreign country, then to practise medicine is to explore new territory: Francis leads the reader on an adventure through what it means to be human. Both a user's guide to the body and a celebration of its elegance, this book will transform the way you think about being alive, whether in sickness or in health. Published in association with the Wellcome Collection. WELLCOME COLLECTION Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Inspired by the medical objects and curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome, it connects science, medicine, life and art. Wellcome Collection exhibitions, events and books explore a diverse range of subjects, including consciousness, forensic medicine, emotions, sexology, identity and death. Wellcome Collection is part of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation that exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive, funding over 14,000 researchers and projects in more than 70 countries. wellcomecollection.orgTrade ReviewA sober and beautiful book about the landscape of the human body: thought-provoking and eloquent. * Hilary Mantel *Wonderful, subtle, unpretentious ... produces a kind of complicity between the author, the reader, and the subject * John Berger *Immensely engaging. * The Sunday Times *In Francis's beautifully written, exquisitely thoughtful, and completely captivating cartography, the body is a superbly-lit museum filled with treasures, and Dr. Francis the perfect guide who deftly weaves together science and story to reveal the wondrous flesh-and-blood underpinnings of our daily lives. It's a spellbinding view. -- Diane Ackerman, author of The Zookeeper’s Wifeand The Human AgeI read this book transfixed... The style is crisp and fast and the human tales irresistible. I was left with many nuggets. -- Melanie Reid * The Times *So enthralling and so well written that it should win its own clutch of prizes... immensely engaging and often unexpected. His achievement here is to guide readers through his special landscape with such eloquence and subtlety. -- Nick Rennison * Sunday Times *Grand, eloquent stuff, occasionally humorous, frequently moving and invariably informative... The end result is a thoroughly entertaining, provocative work. -- Robin McKie * The Observer *The joy of Mr Francis's work lies in the fact that although he delights in the body's physical reality, he takes care not to reduce human experience to that alone. * The Economist *A quietly radical, three-dimensional view of issues such as reproduction, birth, death and disability that has the power, at times, to make you stop mid-sentence and carefully reassess some of your most basic assumptions... its greatest strength is its profound yet understated compassion. * The Scotsman *Praise for Empire Antarctica: Francis' best writing (and it is excellent)... is Robert Macfarlane on ice. This writing achieves the 'quilted quality' of silence, and through it we are brought to a new landscape of words. * Literary Review *Empire Antarctica is the embodiment of everything I admire in travel writing -- a great journey, intense isolation, wide reading, vivid writing, scientific research, and something in the nature of an old-fashioned ordeal. That Gavin Francis is a medical doctor, with an important role to play in the darkness and cold at the ends of the earth, is a bonus. I loved this book. -- Paul TherouxA beautiful, profound and highly readable account of a remarkable personal adventure. Francis's pacing is deft, his prose vivid, his research worn lightly. Empire Antarctica is surely destined to become a standard, not so much of travel as of staying very still. * Daily Telegraph *A beautifully written guide to our wonders and weaknesses that combines the precision of science with a profound insight into the human condition. -- P D Smith * Guardian *
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group The Self Illusion: Why There is No 'You' Inside
Book SynopsisMost of us believe that we possess a self - an internal individual who resides inside our bodies, making decisions, authoring actions and possessing free will. The feeling that a single, unified, enduring self inhabits the body - the 'me' inside me - is compelling and inescapable. This is how we interact as a social animal and judge each other's actions and deeds. But that sovereignty of the self is increasingly under threat from science as our understanding of the brain advances. Rather than a single entity, the self is really a constellation of mechanisms and experiences that create the illusion of the internal you. We only emerge as a product of those around us as part of the different storylines we inhabit from the cot to the grave. It is an ever changing character, created by the brain to provide a coherent interface between the multitude of internal processes and the external world demands that require different selves.Trade ReviewFascinating, timely and important ... Hood's presentation of the science behind our supersense is crystal clear and utterly engaging. New Scientist Wonderful. Illuminating. Full of insight, beauty, and humor. Get to know thyself. -- David Eagleman, author of Sum Startling and engrossing... -- Robin Ince Hood has amassed a mountain of support for his argument, covering brain development through social interaction such as attachment, the importance of social mimicry, the illogicality of free will, on-line and off-line selves and much, much more. Nature a fascinating and beautifully written book. The Biologist
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Trilobite
Book Synopsis‘In Richard Fortey’s capable hands the humble grey trilobite has been transformed into the E.T. of the Lower Palaeozoic – a remarkable and fascinating book.’ SIMON WINCHESTERTrade Review‘Astonishing… A delightful book, mixed autobiography, philosophy and palaeontology, which illuminates understanding of that critical time in the history of the Earth after the explosion of multicellular life between five and six hundred million years ago. There is nothing here to intimidate the non-scientist. It is as good for reading on the beach as anywhere else… We may be special in our own eyes, but in longevity the trilobites knock us into one of their beautiful conical hats’Financial Times ‘Suffused with the experience and affection of a lifetime spent with these common and attractive fossils… A gripping, splendid book’New Scientist ‘Delightful and beautifully written, Fortey has an eye for the world about him that would be envied by some travel writers… interesting and impassioned’Literary Review ‘Fortey has turned his considerable skills to bringing the human dances with trilobites before our eyes… wonderful. His reputation as a first-rate natural history writer will only be enhanced by this volume’TLS ‘Vivid, poetic, highly focussed and uncompromising’Spectator ‘A splendid book written with so much verge and depth’Sunday Telegraph ‘[Trilobites!] needs that exclamation point to shout that it should be read by everybody, whether you know what a trilobite is or not… This is the way science should be written: so engagingly that it makes you forget that you’re actually learning something (actually, you’re learning a lot), and carrying you swiftly from page to page so that before you know if, you’ve let the kettle boil over and you’re at the end… If I had five thousand words I couldn’t do Trilobite! justice. There is just no way to condense Fortey’s glittering book so filled with insight, science, history, charm and wit… you must read it!’Times
£10.44
Guardian Faber Publishing The Idiot Brain: A Neuroscientist Explains What
Book Synopsis'Compelling and wise and rational.' - Jon RonsonMotion sickness.Nightmares.Forgetting people's names.Why did I walk into this room??For something supposedly so brilliant and evolutionarily advanced, the human brain is pretty messy, fallible and disorganised. In The Idiot Brain neuroscientist Dean Burnett celebrates the imperfections of the human brain in all their glory, and the impact of these quirks on our daily lives. Expertly researched and entertainingly written, this book is for anyone who has wondered why their brain seems to be sabotaging their life, and what on earth it is really up to.
£10.44
Hachette Books Why Does Emc2
Book SynopsisThe international bestseller: an introduction to the theory of relativity by the eminent physicists Brian Cox and Jeff ForshawWhat does E=mc2 actually mean? Dr. Brian Cox and Professor Jeff Forshaw go on a journey to the frontier of twenty-first century science to unpack Einstein''s famous equation. Explaining and simplifying notions of energy, mass, and light-while exploding commonly held misconceptions-they demonstrate how the structure of nature itself is contained within this equation. Along the way, we visit the site of one of the largest scientific experiments ever conducted: the now-famous Large Hadron Collider, a gigantic particle accelerator capable of re-creating conditions that existed fractions of a second after the Big Bang. A collaboration between one of the youngest professors in the United Kingdom and a distinguished popular physicist, Why Does E=mc2? is one of the most exciting and accessible explanations of the theory of relativity.Trade Review"I can think of no one, Stephen Hawking included, who more perfectly combines authority, knowledge, passion, clarity and powers of elucidation than Brian Cox. If you really want to know how Big Science works and why it matters to each of us in the smallest way then be entertained by this dazzlingly enthusiastic man. Can someone this charming really be a professor?" Stephen Fry "(The authors have)blazed a clear trail into forbidding territory, from the mathematical structure of space-time all the way to atom bombs, astrophysics and the origin of mass." The New Scientist "(This book) is clear, sparkling in places, and totally without vanity... anyone with an adventurous mind should be intrigued by what two smart physicists say about (relativity theory) in plain language...[A] delightful little book." The Huffington Post"
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Bounce
Book SynopsisFrom the author of You Are Awesome: Find Your Confidence and Dare to be Brilliant at (Almost) AnythingEssential reading for an astounding summer of sport; If you've ever wondered what makes a champion, Bounce has the answer.What are the real secrets of sporting success, and what lessons do they offer about life? Why doesn't Tiger Woods choke? Why are the best figure skaters those that have fallen over the most and why has one small street in Reading produced more top table tennis players than the rest of the country put together.Two-time Olympian and sports writer and broadcaster Matthew Syed draws on the latest in neuroscience and psychology to uncover the secrets of our top athletes and introduces us to an extraordinary cast of characters, including the East German athlete who became a man, and her husband and the three Hungarian sisters who are all chess grandmasters. Bounce is crammed with fascinating stories and statistics.Looking at controversial questions such as whether talentTrade Review‘A gripping examination of the hidden forces that come together in the making of a champion.' Michael Atherton, former England cricket captain 'A fascinating subject and Syed is a dazzling writer.' Owen Slot, The Times 'I love this book. A must-read if you have ever wondered what sets the super-achievers and the rest of us apart – in any field, not just in sport. I only wish I had read it when I was fifteen.' Gabby Logan, BBC presenter and former international gymnast 'Intellectually stimulating and hugely enjoyable at a stroke … challenged some of my most cherished beliefs about life and success.' Jonathan Edwards, triple jump world record holder
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Inc This Explains Everything
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A smorgasbord of ideas." -- Kirkus Reviews "Offers a rare chance to discover big ideas before they hit the mainstream." -- New York Times Book Review "Fun and inspirational. ... This engaging collection can be read from cover to cover or browsed as interest dictates, but all inquisitive readers will enjoy it. Highly recommended..." -- Library Journal "Characteristically thought-provoking and reliably cross-disciplinary, This Explains Everything is a must-read in its entirety." -- Brain Pickings "A collection of essays by big thinkers answering big questions [should be] deeply satisfying. And This Explains Everything delivers." -- New Scientist "The most stimulating English-language reading to be had from anywhere in the world." -- The Canberra Times "Delivers an intellectual melange you can dip into and savor. ... The reader gets something new at each turn of the page." -- New York Journal of Books "A collection that reads like the best TED talks ever. It's an absolute pleasure to read." -- FAREED ZAKARIA "Rich in mental fodder. ... An indispensable way to sample thinking from many corners of the intellectual spectrum." -- Pop Matters
£11.99
John Murray Press This Book Will Blow Your Mind
Book SynopsisWhat''s the nature of reality? Does the universe ever end? What is time and does it even exist? These are the biggest imagination-stretching, brain-staggering questions in the universe - and here are their fascinating answers.From quantum weirdness to freaky cosmology (like white holes - which spew out matter instead of sucking it in), This Book Will Blow Your Mind takes you on an epic journey to the furthest extremes of science, to the things you never thought possible. This book will explain: Why part of the universe missing (and how scientists finally found it)How time might also flow backwardsHow human head transplants might be possible (in the very near future)Whether the universe is a hologramAnd why we are all zombiesFilled with counterintuitive stories and factoids you can''t wait to share, as well as lots of did-you-knows and plenty of how-did-we-ever-not-knows, this new book from the bTrade ReviewPraise for New Scientist books - **
£8.24
GMC Publications Hasselblad & the Moon Landing
Book SynopsisOn July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people ever to set foot on the Moon, their iconic "small steps" captured forever by the camera the astronauts carried with them: the Hasselblad 500EL. This book looks at the history of the Apollo 11 mission through the lens of the Hasselblad, while narrating the parallel challenge to create a camera that could work on the Moon. It considers the cameras used, and the photographs captured, during the Space Race between Russia and America; looks at the experience of taking photographs on the Moon for the first time; and reflects on the legacy of those images, and their part in the enduring Moon Landing conspiracy theories. The second half of the book presents a commemorative album of photographs taken in space using the Hasselblad 500EL. While the Apollo 11 astronauts left two of the three cameras behind on the Moon, where they remain to this day, they brought back film magazines containing 1,400 photographs. A selection of the finest of these is shown alongside the mission timeline and transcripts of the conversations between the astronauts and mission control at Houston.
£8.99
Sky Books Montauk Project
Book Synopsis
£18.39
Sky Books Montauk Revisited
Book Synopsis
£23.24
Princeton University Press Welcome to the Universe in 3D
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Longlisted for the AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books, Hands-On category""Welcome to the Universe in 3D, the ideal gift for star gazers of all ages, brings readers a built-in stereo viewer...that enables a 3D tour of the universe. Armchair astronomers can peer through the stereo viewer, page through nearly 60 double images of the solar system and take in three-dimensional images from as far away as 13.8 billion light years .... Cheaper than a telescope, this is a marvelous introduction to astronomy" * Shelf Awareness *
£19.80
Hodder & Stoughton The Consolations of Physics
Book SynopsisA wise and inspiring manifesto about why understanding physics can make you happier, by one of the leading science writers of our time.Trade ReviewTim Radford's The Consolations of Physics is a love letter to the Voyager space probes. The poetry of their journey stimulated Radford to wax lyrical about the purpose of science. It is a beautiful, moving book that roams through the grand physics of recent decades. -- Michael Brooks * New Statesman, Books of the Year *Lyrical hymn to space exploration, knowledge and the enquiring mind... Helps quench our curiosity, yet deepens the mystery, about the cosmos and our attempts to discover more about it. -- Darragh McManus * Irish Independent *Beautiful, joyful, inspiring. A celebration of physicists' quest to understand the universe, from one of the best science writers around. -- Jo Marchant, New York Times bestselling author of CUREIt's rare that you get a book that connects Dante's Divine Comedy to the Higgs boson and the geology of limestone cliffs, and this weaving together of two thousand's years of intellectual thought is one of the many delights of this book. It's a hymn to scientific endeavour. -- Professor Mark Miodownik, New York Times bestselling author of STUFF MATTERSWow... Tim Radford's writing is so beautiful, it reads like poetry. A book more about life and passion than physics. People who have never cared a jot about physics (like me) must read this book. -- Suzanne O'Sullivan, Wellcome Prize-winning author of IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEADA beautiful, inspiring reflection on science, humanity, space, and matter - this would blow Boethius's mind. -- Sarah Bakewell, Sunday Times-bestselling author of HOW TO LIVE and AT THE EXISTENTIALIST'S CAFEAn appreciative survey of the vast canvas on which physicists do their creative work - the entire observable universe, from the beginning of time to its end (assuming there is one)... Beneath his jocularity, Radford is an unapologetic intellectual. -- Graham Farmelo * Guardian *Beautifully crafted 'love letter to physics'... His deft narrative interweaves discoveries such as the Higgs boson, the Hubble Deep Field and gravitational waves with Dante Alighieri's epic fourteenth-century poem The Divine Comedy, which intuited the laws of motion found by Galileo Galilei some 300 years later. -- Barbara Kiser * Nature *Engaging and delightful... In Radford's persuasive and genial company, as he roams from the initial singularity to dark energy, from Saint Augustine's City of God to Dante's The Divine Comedy, from the Higgs bosun to the multiverse, it's hard not to be moved by the fact that there are those who are capable of dreaming up and executing complex undertakings that explore the order that underpins creation. -- Manjit Kumar * Observer *Physics may not be a subject many people find consoling, but in this poetic paean to mankind's quest to make sense of the universe Tim Radford...might convert a few. -- Rob Kingston * Sunday Times *
£8.09
Yale University Press Neuroarthistory
Book SynopsisExploring the writings of major thinkers (among them Montesquieu, Burke, Kant, Marx, and Freud), and leading art historians (including Pliny, Winckelmann, Ruskin, Pater, Gombrich, and Baxandall), as well as artists such as Alberti and Leonardo and scientists from Aristotle to Zeki, John Onians shows how an understanding of the neural basis of the mind contributes to an understanding of all human behaviorsincluding art.Trade ReviewAn “ambitious study” – Steven Jaron, The Burlington Magazine"A book that changes everything"- David Carrier, Champney Family Professor, Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Institute of Art
£18.99
Royal Society of Chemistry The Science and Commerce of Whisky
Book SynopsisSince the publication of the first edition in 2014, the whisky industry has continued to change. This book provides the reader with an overview of the latest academic research and industry best practice in an accessible and authoritative format. Despite the recession, new distillation capacity has been added at a record pace and new consumers in new markets have entered the arena. Distillers are experimenting with new finishes, packaging and marketing techniques and amongst consumers there is a hunger for knowledge and informed commentary. An entirely new chapter discussing the management and utilization of co-products and recent developments in areas such as anaerobic digestion is included along with revisions and updates to most chapters. Written by acknowledged and experienced authorities of the subject, this book provide an up to date treatment of this fast developing area. Aimed at the popular market, it provides a leading text for students of distilling, industry practitioners, new craft distillers and whisky enthusiasts. Review of the 1st Edition 'The authors have clearly put much effort into this book... I enjoyed the book almost as much as I enjoy whisky. Fascinating stuff from cover to cover.' Ian W. Davies, Chromatographia, 2014, 77, 1733-1734 'Sometimes, you come across a book that's so comprehensive that it's worth shouting about....a fascinating book that can be engaged with on numerous levels, even if you aren't a student of distilling. Pop it on the shelf and consult it from time to time over the coming years. This might be the only whisky book you'll ever need.' http://malt-review.com/2014/08/01/book-review-the-science-and-commerce-of-whisky/Trade ReviewFirst we get detailed overviews of the five major whiskey nations (about 100 pages). In this case, these are Ireland, Canada (far too seldom considered), USA, Japan and of course Scotland. A selection that you can understand even as a German in the midst of a flourishing domestic whiskey industry. Especially since there is a nice chapter on “New Whiskey Countries” towards the end of the book. This is followed by about 100 pages about the production of whiskey. Some graphs with chemical formulas may not be obvious to everyone. But they are intended to supplement the text, and there are many other plates as well, x. B. a continuous still system or the distillation process n wash and spirit still. Even readers who have not studied natural sciences can understand the content of these chapters precisely and in understandable language. Each chapter ends with a “conclusion”. Ours reads like this: “The Science and Commerce of Whiskey” cannot be compared with any other whiskey book. With the large number of new publications, this is anything but a matter of course. Over the years you will come back to the book again and again. The solid binding and very good paper are helpful and pleasant. -- Frank Winter, Freelance Writer * Fachzeitschrift "Whisky-Botschafter" *Table of ContentsWhisky's Historical Development; Scotland; Crop-to-cask: Production of New Make Spirit; Wood Chemistry and the Maturation of Whisky; From Blend-to-Bottle; Co-products; Marketing and Brand Development; New Whisky Countries and the 'Craft' Distilling Phenomenon; Today's Global Whisky Market
£34.99
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers Inc The Secret Language Of Color: Science, Nature,
Book SynopsisIn this beautiful and thorough investigation, The Secret Language of Color celebrates and illuminates the countless ways in which color colors our world.Why is the sky blue, the grass green, a rose red? Most of us have no idea how to answer these questions, nor are we aware that color pervades nearly all aspects of life, from the subatomic realm and the natural world to human culture and psychology.Organized into chapters that begin with a fascinating explanation of the physics and chemistry of color, The Secret Language of Color travels from outer space to Earth, from plants to animals to humans. In these chapters we learn about how and why we see color, the nature of rainbows, animals with color vision far superior and far inferior to our own, how our language influences the colors we see, and much more. Between these chapters, authors Joann Eckstut and Ariele Eckstut turn their attention to the individual hues of the visible spectrum?red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet?presenting each in fascinating, in-depth detail.Including hundreds of stunning photographs and dozens of informative, often entertaining graphics, every page is a breathtaking demonstration of color and its role in the world around us. Whether? you see red, are a shrinking violet, or talk a blue streak, this is the perfect book for anyone interested in the history, science, culture, and beatuty of color in the natural and man-made world.
£23.75
Orion Publishing Co Stuff You Should Know
Book SynopsisJosh Clark and Chuck Bryant started the podcast Stuff You Should Know back in 2008 because they were curious-curious about the world around them, curious about what they might have missed in their formal educations, and curious to dig deeper on stuff they thought they understood.As it turns out, they aren''t the only curious ones. They''ve since amassed a rabid fan base, making Stuff You Should Know one of the most popular podcasts in the world. Armed with their inquisitive natures and a passion for sharing, they research and discuss a wide variety of topics-always working to uncover the weird, fascinating, delightful, or unexpected pieces of any given subject, and then talking about it together in an accessible and humorous way.The pair have now taken their near-boundless whys and hows from your earbuds to the pages of a book for the first time-and with it comes loads of new content, covering subjects about which they''ve long wondered or wanted to exp
£11.69
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Superheavy
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the 2020 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science BooksCreating an element is no easy feat. It''s the equivalent of firing six trillion bullets a second at a needle in a haystack, hoping the bullet and needle somehow fuse together, then catching it in less than a thousandth of a second after which it''s gone forever. Welcome to the world of the superheavy elements: a realm where scientists use giant machines and spend years trying to make a single atom of mysterious artefacts that have never existed on Earth.From the first elements past uranium and their role in the atomic bomb to the latest discoveries stretching our chemical world, Superheavy will reveal the hidden stories lurking at the edges of the periodic table. Why did the US Air Force fly planes into mushroom clouds? Who won the transfermium wars? How did an earthquake help give Japan its first element? And what happened when Superman almost spilled nuclear secrets?<Trade ReviewWithout any compromise in accuracy, the book is compelling, conversational and entertaining, full of great stories and insights into the characters behind the quest. * Chemistry World *Making elements that don’t exist in nature is one of the craziest, most painstaking and bold pursuits in all of science, and Superheavy tells that story for the first time, with wit and verve. This deeply researched and engaging tour of the nether reaches of the periodic table will delight and inform everyone from the expert to the reader with only the dimmest memory of the iconic chart of chemical elements on the school lab wall. -- Phillip Ball, author of Beyond WeirdWith meticulous attention to detail and careful research, Chapman masterfully captures the excitement, politics and competition of the transuranic elements. Chapman's energy and enthusiasm is evident in every interaction, whether he is uncovering elaborate experimental details or unearthing scientific rivalries. -- Jess Wade, Physics Research Associate, Imperial College LondonTo anyone who imagines that the romantic age of elemental discovery ended in the 19th century, Kit Chapman’s hugely entertaining account of the discovery of the elements past uranium will be a real eye-opener. Larger than life characters, strange stories of errors, improvisation, and luck (good and bad) abound here. With a solid introduction to the science underpinning the stability and separation of these mysterious and mostly ephemeral species, there is much for everyone to learn and connect with here. -- Andrea Sella, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, UCL, and winner of the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize 2014Table of ContentsPrologue Introduction PART I: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM Chapter 1: Modern Alchemy Chapter 2: The Secret of Gilman Hall Chapter 3: How to Build a Nuclear Weapon Chapter 4: Superman vs the FBI Chapter 5: Universitium ofium Californium Berkelium Chapter 6: The Death of Jimmy Robinson Chapter 7: Presidents and Beetles PART II: TRANSFERMIUM WARS Chapter 8: Nobelievium Chapter 9: From Russia with Flerov Chapter 10: The East and the West Chapter 11: Xanthasia and the Magic Numbers Chapter 12: Life at the Edge of Science Chapter 13: The Atoms that Came in from the Cold Chapter 14: Changing the Rules Chapter 15: How to Name your Element PART III: THE END OF CHEMISTRY Chapter 16: After the Wall Came Down Chapter 17: The Ninov Fraud Chapter 18: A New Hope Chapter 19: Beams of the Rising Sun Chapter 20: The Edge of the Unknown Chapter 21: Beyond Superheavy Epilogue References Acknowledgements Index
£10.44
Canongate Books Figuring
Book SynopsisFiguring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries - beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalysed the environmental movement. Stretching between these figures is a cast of artists, writers, and scientists - mostly women, mostly queer - whose public contribution has risen out of their unclassifiable and often heartbreaking private relationships to change the way we understand, experience and appreciate the universe. Among them are the astronomer Maria Mitchell, who paved the way for women in science; the sculptor Harriet Hosmer, who did the same in art; the journalist and literary critic Margaret Fuller, who sparked the feminist movement; and the poet Emily Dickinson. Emanating from these lives are larger questions about the measure of a good life and what it means to leave a lasting mark of betterment on an imperfect world: Are achievement and acclaim enough for happiness? Is genius? Is love? Weaving through the narrative is a set of peripheral figures - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Darwin, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Herman Melville, Frederick Douglass, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walt Whitman - and a tapestry of themes spanning music, feminism, the history of science, the rise and decline of religion, and how the intersection of astronomy, poetry and Transcendentalist philosophy fomented the environmental movement.Trade ReviewA highly original survey of life, love and creativity; an intellectual odyssey that challenges easy categorisation . . . Popova writes beautifully, translating abstractions into sensuous, evocative subjects, turning history and science into symphonic prose poetry . . . To read Figuring is to be immersed in a gloriously ambitious symphony of ideas that segues effortlessly * * Guardian * *Ambitious, challenging and somewhat category-defying * * New York Times * *I can't pull myself away from Maria Popova's mesmerising new book Figuring . . . With glorious writing, storytelling, gems of insight and unique literary range, she tenderly brings to life celebrated scientists and artists we always thought we knew but really didn't, and illuminates the fine threads that connect us all. I'm diving back in! -- DIANE ACKERMANThese chapters on Dickinson are among the most compelling biographical pages I have ever read, rendering me incapable of closing the book . . . The final chapters on Rachel Carson were so moving that I cried for thirty-odd pages . . . When Popova quoted Carson on great books, "something that would raise you a little higher than you were yesterday, something that would make you willing and able for your part in the work of the world", I knew that I had one such book in my hands * * Irish Times * *The polymathic Popova, presiding genius behind brainpickings.org, looks at some of the forgotten heroes of science, art, and culture . . . she peppers thoughtful, lucid consideration of acts of the imagination with stories that, if ever aired before, are too little known . . . Throughout her complex, consistently stimulating narrative, the author blends biography, cultural criticism, and journalism to forge elegant connections: Dickinson feeds onto Carson, who looks back to Mitchell, who looks forward to Popova herself, and with plenty of milestones along the way . . . A lyrical work of intellectual history, one that Popova's many followers will await eagerly and that deserves to win her many more * * Kirkus [starred] * *Fascinating and compellingly written, bringing the reader into the lives of its subjects, ending with a long description of Rachel Carson's life that has only made me love her more * * Arts Desk * *
£13.49
Wooden Books Golden Section: Nature's Greatest Secret
Book SynopsisWhat was the golden secret known to Leonardo da Vinci, Kepler, Plato and the ancient magicians? Can there really be a key to nature and life itself? In this small but compact volume, internationally renowned divine proportion supersleuth Dr. Olsen unravels perhaps the greatest mystery of all time, a code that seems to underly life, the universe and everything, a pattern we instinctively recognise as beautiful, and which nature herself uses at every scale. Designed for artists and scientists alike, this is the smallest, densest and most beautiful book on the golden section ever produced. 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.
£8.18
Hodder & Stoughton Better in Every Sense
Book SynopsisFor many of us life has stopped making sense. Super-efficient routines that once served us well now stress us out and a ''toughing it out'' mindset is only compounding the problem.In Better in Every Sense, neuroscientist Norman Farb and clinical psychologist Zindel Segal reveal how the new science of sensation provides the key to doing things differently. By tuning into new and everyday sensations - from the feeling of our feet on a crowded street to the sound of birdsong in the park - we can engage our sensory network and boost our resilience, well-being, health and creativity.Grounded in decades of scientific research and filled with simple exercises and practical mental techniques for mastering the art of ''sense foraging'', Better in Every Sense explores the power of sensory experience to liberate us from our negative thinking patterns and help us successfully handle all of life''s challenges.A brilliant, user-friendly, and easy-to-implemTrade ReviewA brilliant, user-friendly, and easy-to-implement framework explaining why intentionally tuning in to our senses and learning how to trust them and expand their repertoire in outside-the-box ways-what the authors call 'sense foraging'-is profoundly liberative and healing, revolutionary, and yet totally commonsensical. -- Jon Kabat-ZinnWhen you are feeling stressed or stuck, how do you relate to your life? In Better in Every Sense the authors take us through the science of tools to get out of the 'house of habit' and offer ways to re-engage with your life. A wonderful new book by Norman Farb and Zindel Segal. Fascinating, thought-provoking, and so useful in these trying times. -- Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real LifeThese two highly trained and highly skilled professionals have got the chops - and the goods - to help you genuinely upgrade your life! -- Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier
£18.00
Hodder & Stoughton Psychedelics: The revolutionary drugs that could
Book SynopsisWe are on the cusp of a major revolution in psychiatric medicine and neuroscience. After fifty years of prohibition, criminalisation and fear, science is finally showing us that psychedelics are not dangerous or harmful. Instead, when used according to tested, safe and ethical guidelines, they are our most powerful newest treatment of mental health conditions, from depression, PTSD, and OCD to disordered eating and even addiction and chronic pain.Professor David Nutt, one of the world's leading Neuropsychopharmacologists, has spent 15 years researching this field and it is his most significant body of work to date. In 2018, he co-founded the first academic psychedelic research centre - underpinned by his mission to provide evidence-based information for people everywhere. It revived interest in the understanding and use of this drug in its many forms, including MDMA, ayahuasca, magic mushrooms, LSD and ketamine. The results of this have been nothing short of ground-breaking for the future categorisation of drugs, but also for what we now know about brain mechanisms and our consciousness.At a time where there is an enormous amount of noise around the benefits of psychedelics, this book contains the knowledge you need to know about a drug that is about to go mainstream, free from the hot air, direct from the expert.Are you ready to change your mind?
£18.00
Verso Books The Eye of the Master: A Social History of
Book SynopsisWhat is AI? A dominant view describes it as the quest "to solve intelligence" - a solution supposedly to be found in the secret logic of the mind or in the deep physiology of the brain, such as in its complex neural networks. The Eye of the Master argues, to the contrary, that the inner code of AI is shaped not by the imitation of biological intelligence, but the intelligence of labour and social relations, as it is found in Babbage's "calculating engines" of the industrial age as well as in the recent algorithms for image recognition and surveillance. The idea that AI may one day become autonomous (or "sentient", as someone thought of Google's LaMDA) is pure fantasy. Computer algorithms have always imitated the form of social relations and the organisation of labour in their own inner structure and their purpose remains blind automation. The Eye of the Master urges a new literacy on AI for scientists, journalists and new generations of activists, who should recognise that the "mystery" of AI is just the automation of labour at the highest degree, not intelligence per se.Trade ReviewWe are surrounded by stories about AI threatening jobs, as if it were a power haunting labor from outside and above. The Eye of the Master radically challenges such a view. What Matteo Pasquinelli demonstrates is that labor is at root of the historical development of AI. Tales of expropriation and resistance, automation and struggle crisscross the pages of this passionate book, which is at same time an amazing academic achievement and a political weapon to rethink the politics of AI. -- Sandro Mezzadra, co-author of The Politics of OperationsIn this original and extremely timely book, Matteo Pasquinelli offers nothing less than a long-range history and critical analysis of a labour theory of automation and knowledge. He uses detailed studies both of the remarkable accounts of general intellect and the extractive and exploitative organisation of the industrial workplace produced in nineteenth-century British political economy and of the challenging developments of models of machine intelligence and computational systems developed in the mid-twentieth century United States to unlock the sources and meanings of the politics of artificial intelligence. The work shows how Marx's depiction of the development of the social individual under industrial capitalism provides indispensable resources for making sense now of what artificial intelligence means, and the forms of economic and political order that its embodiment of knowledge and control express. At a moment when apostles and prophets of machine intelligence proclaim both a utopian world of effortless control and a catastrophe of extinction, Pasquinelli's patient and clever work provides a crucial insight into the past and future of AI monopolies and their consequences. -- Simon Schaffer, author of Babbage’s Intelligence (1994) and OK computer (2001)Artificial Intelligence and its impact on society is on everyone's lips, but how was AI shaped by society in the first place? This amazing account of its emergence, starting with the evolution of labor division and automatization, is a must-read. Pasquinelli's book not only shows us where we came from but also how we might escape the problematic consequences of this evolution. -- Jürgen Renn, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology.Table of ContentsIntroduction: AI as Division of Labour1 The Material Tools of Algorithmic ThinkingPart ITHE INDUSTRIAL AGE2 Babbage and the Mechanisation of Mental Labour3 The Machinery Question4 The Origins of Marx's General Intellect5 The Abstraction of LabourPart IITHE INFORMATION AGE6 The Self-Organisation of the Cybernetic Mind7 The Automation of Pattern Recognition8 Hayek and the Epistemology of Connectionism9 Th e Invention of the PerceptronConclusion: The Automation of General Intelligence
£16.14
Dorling Kindersley Ltd Evolution
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£22.50
Dorling Kindersley Ltd The Biology Book
Book Synopsis
£17.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Brilliant Abyss
Book SynopsisThe deep sea is the last, vast wilderness on the planet. This is the story of how we imagine, explore and exploit it. For centuries, myth-makers and storytellers have concocted imaginary monsters of the deep, and now scientists are looking there to find bizarre, unknown species, chemicals to make new medicines, and to gain a greater understanding of how this world of ours works. With an average depth of 12,000 feet and chasms that plunge much deeper, it forms a frontier for new discoveries. The Brilliant Abyss tells the story of our relationship with the deep sea how we imagine, explore and exploit it. It captures the golden age of discovery we are currently in and looks back at the history of how we got here, while also looking forward to the unfolding new environmental disasters that are taking place miles beneath the waves, far beyond the public gaze. Throughout history, there have been two distinct groups of deep-sea explorers. Both have sought knowledge but with difTrade ReviewSo comprehensive and insightful that it will be a long time before it’s surpassed … It is hard to imagine a more timely or important book than The Brilliant Abyss. Carefully conceived and luminously written, it is certain to be a bestseller, which gives me hope that its urgent message might help save the world. * New Statesman *Scales’s approach is enthralling and richly expressed and highlights how closely our lives depend on the deep. * Observer *Scales’s great gift is for transmuting our awe at the wonders of the deep sea into a kind of quiet rage that they could soon be no more … The deep, she argues, is too vulnerable, and too crucial to the working of the planet to blindly ransack. * New York Times Book Review *Accessible, enjoyable and written with infectious passion, this book is a compelling guide to a fascinating and often overlooked part of our planet. * The Week *Fascinating … The Brilliant Abyss is a manifesto for change as much as it is a description of an ecological crisis. Its overall effect – to insist that what’s already down there matters, even or especially when it is hidden from our view. * New Republic *Helen Scales is one of those rare scientists who can capture the excitement of science. The Brilliant Abyss has a thrill on every page as she explores the deep and little known ocean. But this comes with a warning. Man’s destruction is now reaching the remotest corners of the planet and our survival depends on stopping it. * Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod *Helen Scales explains why leaving the deep alone is so important – play your part by arming yourself with the facts. * Coast magazine *Helen Scales’ beautiful account reveals the astonishing complexity and importance of the creatures of the abyss, to the planet and to us. * Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation and scientific advisor, BBC Blue Planet II *Table of ContentsPrelude PART ONE: EXPLORE 1: Here is the Deep 2: The Whale and the Worm 3: Caught in a Jelly Web 4: In a Chemical World 5: Highs and Lows PART TWO: DEPEND 6: Deep Matters 7: Deep Cures PART THREE: EXPLOIT 8: Fishing Deep 9: The Eternal Junkyard 10: What's Mine is Yours PART FOUR: PRESERVE 11: Green vs Blue 12: A Sanctuary in the Deep Epilogue Acknowledgements Notes Additional Resources Index Plates
£11.39
