Search results for ""Author Andrew Robinson""

An updated edition of this acclaimed book, now with a new preface and published to tie in with the bicentenary of Champollion’s breakthrough in 1822. Cracking the Egyptian Code is the first biography in English of Jean-François Champollion, the impoverished, arrogant and brilliant child of the French Revolution who made the vital breakthrough in deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs. This account charts Champollion’s dramatic life and achievements: by turns a teenage professor, a supporter of Napoleon, an exile, a fanatical decipherer and a curator at the Louvre, he lived life to the full but drove himself into an early grave. Andrew Robinson’s full-blooded account brings the man, his setbacks and his ultimate triumphs vividly to life.

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Writing is one of humanity’s greatest inventions.Without it there would be no history and no civilization as we know it. But how, when and where did writing evolve? In a succinct, absorbing and well-illustrated text, Andrew Robinson discusses the history of decipherment and then each of the major writing systems in turn, from cuneiform and Egyptian and Mayan hieroglyphs to alphabets and the scripts of China and Japan. An invaluable guide to the world’s major writing systems, The Story of Writing is a book to read for both pleasure and enlightenment.

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Forty articles expertly curated by biographer Andrew Robinson provide an unrivalled account of the lives and personalities behind the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time. Who made us see the atom, our minds, our planet and the universe afresh? How did we uncover the mysteries of life on earth? What next? The theories, discoveries and inventions of scientists have revolutionized our consciousness. Think of gravity, evolution, relativity, radioactivity and the Big Bang; electric motors, vaccines, nuclear power and computers. Behind these breakthroughs lie the personal stories of men and women with vision and determination: singular thinkers who defied adversity in their quest for answers. This book tells the remarkable lives of the pioneers – from Galileo, Faraday and Darwin, through Pasteur and Marie Curie, to Einstein, Freud and Turing. Written by an international team of distinguished scientists, historians and science writers, it will intrigue budding scientists; those fascinated by the lives of great individuals; and anyone curious to know how we came to understand the exterior world and the pulse of life within.

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A "highly readable" (Wall Street Journal) account of the role Britain played in Einstein's life—first by inspiring his teenage passion for physics, then by providing refuge from the Nazis“A vivid look at how the U.K. affected the German-born physicist’s life and thinking.” —Publishers Weekly“Robinson has that rare knack for presenting a near-encyclopedic volume of historical information, anecdotes and contemporaneous accounts in a thoroughly delightful fashion.”—Ian Randall, Physics World In autumn 1933, Albert Einstein found himself living alone in an isolated holiday hut in rural England. There, he toiled peacefully at mathematics while occasionally stepping out for walks or to play his violin. But how had Einstein come to abandon his Berlin home and go ‘"on the run"? In this lively account, Andrew Robinson tells the story of the world’s greatest scientist and Britain for the first time, showing why Britain was the perfect refuge for Einstein from rumored assassination by Nazi agents. Young Einstein’s passion for British physics, epitomized by Newton, had sparked his scientific development around 1900. British astronomers had confirmed his general theory of relativity, making him internationally famous in 1919. Welcomed by the British people, who helped him campaign against Nazi anti-Semitism, he even intended to become a British citizen. So why did Einstein then leave Britain, never to return to Europe?

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Akira Kurosawa said of the great director: ‘Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.’ Martin Scorsese remarked on Ray’s birth centenary in 2021: ‘The films of Satyajit Ray are truly treasures of cinema, and everyone with an interest in film needs to see them.’ Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye is the definitive biography, based on extensive interviews with Ray himself, his actors and collaborators, and a deep knowledge of Bengali culture. Andrew Robinson provides an in-depth critical account of each film in an astonishingly versatile career, from Ray’s directorial debut Pather Panchali (1955) to his final feature Agantuk (1991). The third (centenary) edition includes new material: an epilogue, ‘A century of Ray’, about the nature of his genius; a wide-ranging conversation with Ray drawn from the author’s interviews; and an updated comprehensive bibliography of Ray’s writings.

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The Indus civilization flourished for half a millennium from about 2600 to 1900 BC, when it mysteriously declined and vanished from view. It remained invisible for almost four thousand years, until its ruins were discovered in the 1920s by British and Indian archaeologists. Today, after almost a century of excavation, it is regarded as the beginning of Indian civilization and possibly the origin of Hinduism. The Indus: Lost Civilizations is an accessible introduction to every significant aspect of an extraordinary and tantalizing ‘lost’ civilization, which combined artistic excellence, technological sophistication and economic vigour with social egalitarianism, political freedom and religious moderation. The book also discusses the vital legacy of the Indus civilization in India and Pakistan today.

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Without writing, there would be no records, no history, no books, and no emails. Writing is an integral and essential part of our lives; but when did it start? Why do we all write differently and how did writing develop into what we use today? All of these questions are answered in this Very Short Introduction. Starting with the origins of writing five thousand years ago, with cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs, Andrew Robinson explains how these early forms of writing developed into hundreds of scripts including the Roman alphabet and the Chinese characters. He reveals how the modern writing symbols and abbreviations we take for granted today - including airport signage and text messaging - resemble ancient ones much more closely than we might think. 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.

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Experience the story of Overwatch 2 from a multiple points of view in this star-studded short story collection, featuring eight tales from award-winning and bestselling authors.

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Albert Einstein visited Oxford in 1931, to receive an honorary degree and to lecture on relativity and the Universe. While lecturing, he naturally chalked equations and diagrams on several blackboards. One of these is today the most popular object in Oxford's History of Science Museum. Yet Einstein tried to prevent its preservation because he was modest about his legendary status. Having failed, he complained to his diary: Not even a cart-horse could endure so much!' Nevertheless, he came back to Oxford in 1932 and again in 1933 now as a refugee from Nazi Germany. In many ways, the city appealed deeply and revealed him at his most charismatic, as he participated in its science, music and politics, and wandered its streets alone. While staying in college rooms once occupied by the mathematician and writer Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, he wrote a rhymed German poem now kept in the Bodleian Library describing himself as an old hermit' and a roaming barbaria

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Beginning with the stories of three great decipherments – Egyptian hieroglyphs, Minoan Linear B and Mayan glyphs – Lost Languages moves on to dissect the most well-known and enigmatic undeciphered scripts from around the world. These include the Etruscan alphabet of Italy, the Indus Valley seal script, Rongorongo from remote Easter Island, the Zapotec script of Mexico (probably the first writing system in the Americas), and the unique Phaistos disc of Crete. Lost Languages reports from the front lines of scholarship where obsessions, genius, occasional delusion and sometimes bitter rivalry are de rigueur among those currently competing for the rare honour of cracking these ancient codes – and giving voice to forgotten worlds.

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Homer, Leonardo da Vinci, Mozart, Shakespeare, and Tolstoy; Curie, Darwin, Einstein, Galileo, and Newton. What do these world-famous artists and scientists have in common?- apart from the fact that their achievements predate our own time by a century or more. Most of us would probably answer: all ten possessed something we call genius, which in each instance permanently changed the way that humanity perceived the world. But pressed to be more precise, we find it remarkably hard to define genius. Genius is highly individual and unique, of course, yet it shares a compelling, inevitable quality for professionals and the general public alike. Darwin's ideas are still required reading for every working biologist; they continue to generate fresh thinking and experiments around the world. So do Einstein's theories among physicists. Shakespeare's plays and Mozart's melodies and harmonies continue to move people in languages and cultures far removed from their native England and Austria. Contemporary 'geniuses' may come and go, but the idea of genius will not let go of us. Genius is the name we give to a quality of work that transcends fashion, celebrity, fame, and reputation: the opposite of a period piece. Somehow, genius abolishes both the time and the place of its origin. This Very Short Introduction uses the life and work of familiar geniuses-and some less familiar-to illuminate both the individual and the general aspects of genius. In particular: the roles of talent, heredity, parenting, education, training, hard work, intelligence, personality, mental illness, inspiration, eureka moments, and luck, in the making of genius. 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.

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This book tells the remarkable lives of the pioneers of science – from Galileo and Newton, Faraday and Darwin, Pasteur and Marie Curie, to Einstein, Freud, Turing, and Crick and Watson. A series of seventy articles, written by an international team of distinguished scientists, historians of science and science writers, provides an unrivalled account of the lives and personalities behind the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time. Organized thematically, starting at the ‘Universe’, and moving smaller through the ‘Earth’ and ‘Molecules and Matter’ to ‘Inside the Atom’, with the final two sections looking at ‘Life’ and ‘Body and Mind’, it covers all the major scientific disciplines, including astronomy, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, computing, ecology, geology, medicine, neurology, physics and psychology, as well as mathematics. The Scientists will intrigue budding scientists, those fascinated by the lives of great individuals, and anyone curious to know how over the centuries we came to understand the physical world around us and inside us.

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The fate of the world rests in the hands of the worst person on it! From New York Times best selling writer RICK REMENDER and a murderers’ row of all-star artistic talent, comes the story of Ernie Ray Clementine—a profane, illiterate, drug-addicted biker with a fifth-grade education accidentally received a power-imbuing serum making him the world’s most powerful super spy. He is a relic of a bygone era, the living embodiment of sex, drugs, and rock and roll—so, this doesn’t make things easy for the spy organization that needs his help as they bribe, cajole, and manipulate him to choose between his own self-interests and doing what's right. FeaturingCollects THE SCUMBAG #1-5

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"The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility ...The fact that it is comprehensible is a miracle." --Albert Einstein, 1936 Albert Einstein's universal appeal is only partially explained by his brilliant work in physics, as Andrew Robinson demonstrates in this authoritative, accessible, and richly illustrated biography. The main narrative is enriched by twelve essays by well-known scientists, scholars, and artists, including three Nobel Laureates. The book presents clearly the beautiful simplicity at the heart of Einstein's greatest discoveries, and explains how his ideas have continued to influence scientific developments such as lasers, the theory of the big bang, and "theories of everything." Einstein's life and activities outside of science are also considered, including his encounters with famous contemporaries such as Chaplin, Roosevelt, and Tagore, his love of music, and his troubled family life. The book recognizes that Einstein's striking originality was expressed in many ways, from his political and humanitarian campaigns against nuclear weapons, anti-Semitism, McCarthyism, and social injustices, to his unconventional personal appearance. Published in association with the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the book draws on this exceptional resource of Einstein's private papers and personal photographs. This new edition, published to recognize the centenary of the publication of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, includes an important new afterword by Diana Kormos Buchwald, the director of the Einstein Papers Project at the California Institute of Technology. The contributors are Philip Anderson, Arthur C. Clarke, I. Bernard Cohen, Freeman Dyson, Philip Glass, Stephen Hawking, Max Jammer, Diana Kormos Buchwald, Joao Magueijo, Joseph Rotblat, Robert Schulmann, and Steven Weinberg.

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Important texts in the Church's history collected together in one volume. This first miscellany volume to be published by the Church of England Record Society contains eight edited texts covering aspects of the history of the Church from the Reformation to the early twentieth century. The longest contribution is a scholarly edition of W.J. Conybeare's famous and influential article on nineteenth-century "Church Parties"; other documents included are the protests against Archbishop Cranmer's metropolitical powers of visitation, the petitions to the Long Parliament in support of the Prayer Book, and Randall Davidson's memoir on the role of the archbishop of Canterbury in the early twentieth century. Stephen Taylor is Professor in the History ofEarly Modern England, University of Durham. Contributors: PAUL AYRIS, MELANIE BARBER, ARTHUR BURNS, JUDITH MALTBY, ANTHONY MILTON, ANDREW ROBINSON, STEPHEN TAYLOR, BRETT USHER, ALEXANDRA WALSHAM

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