In Electric Universe , David Bodanis weaves tales ofromance, divine inspiration, and fraud through a lucid account ofthe invisible force that permeates our universe. In these pages thevirtuoso scientists who plumbed the secrets of electricity comevividly to life, including familiar giants like Thomas Edison; thevisionary Michael Faraday, who struggled against the prejudices ofthe British class system; and Samuel Morse, a painter who, beforeinventing the telegraph, ran for mayor of New York on a platform ofpersecuting Catholics. Here too is Alan Turing, whose dream of amarvelous thinking machine—what we know as the computer—was metwith indifference, and who ended his life in despair after Britishauthorities forced him to undergo experimental treatments to “cure”his homosexuality. From the frigid waters of the Atlantic to the streets of Hamburgduring a World War II firestorm to the interior of the human body, Electric Universe is a mesmerizing journey of discovery by amaster science writer.
How did the replication bomb we call life begin and where inthe world, or rather, in the universe, is it heading? Writing withcharacteristic wit and an ability to clarify complex phenomena (theNew York Times described his style as the sort of science writingthat makes the reader feel like a genius), Richard Dawkinsconfronts this ancient mystery.
At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes'sstill-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not beginfar back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process thatcame about only three thousand years ago and is still developing.The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extendinto virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history andculture, our religion -- and indeed our future.
Two world-renowned scientists present an audacious new vision ofthe cosmos that "steals the thunder from the Big Bang theory."--"Wall Street Journal"The Big Bang theory--widely regarded as theleading explanation for the origin of the universe--posits thatspace and time sprang into being about 14 billion years ago in ahot, expanding fireball of nearly infinite density. Over the lastthree decades the theory has been repeatedly revised to addresssuch issues as how galaxies and stars first formed and why theexpansion of the universe is speeding up today. Furthermore, anexplanation has yet to be found for what caused the Big Bang in thefirst place. In "Endless Universe," Paul J. Steinhardt and NeilTurok, both distinguished theoretical physicists, present a boldnew cosmology. Steinhardt and Turok "contend that what we think ofas the moment of creation was simply part of an infinite cycle oftitanic collisions between our universe and a parallel world"("Discover"). They recount the remarkable developments inastronom
Thinking about moving to mars? Well, why not? Mars, after all,is the planet that holds the greatest promise for humancolonization. But why speculate about the possibilities when youcan get the real scientific scoop from someone who's been happilyliving and working there for years? Straight from thenot-so-distant future, this intrepid pioneer's tips for physical,financial, and social survival on the Red Planet cover: - How toget to Mars (Cycling spacecraft offer cheap rides, but the smell isnot for everyone.)- Choosing a spacesuit (The old-fashioned butreliable pneumatic Neil Armstrong style versus the sleek new--butanatomically unforgiving--elastic "skinsuit.")- Selecting a habitat(Just like on Earth: location, location, location.)- Finding a jobthat pays well and doesn't kill you (This is not a metaphor onMars.)- How to meet the opposite sex (Master more than fortyMars-centric pickup lines.) With more than twenty originalillustrations by Michael Carroll, Robert Murray, and other renownedspace artists,
Editor Max Brockman introduces the work of some of today’sbrightest and most innovative young scientists in this fascinatingand exciting collection of writings that describe the veryboundaries of our knowledge. Future Science features nineteen young scientists, most of whomare presenting their innovative work and ideas to a generalaudience for the first time. Featured in this collection areWilliam McEwan (son of the novelist), a virologist, discussing hisresearch into the biology of antiviral immunity; Naomi Eisenberger,a neuroscientist, wondering how social rejection affects usphysically; Jon Kleinberg, a computer scientist, showing whatmassive datasets can teach us about society and ourselves; andAnthony Aguirre, a physicist, who gives readers a tantalizingglimpse of infinity.
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Many people who have ever owned a pet will swear that their dogor cat or other animal has exhibited some kind of behavior theyjust can't explain. How does a dog know when its owner is returninghome at an unexpected time? How do cats know when it is time to goto the vet, even before the cat carrier comes out? How do horsesfind their way back to the stable over completely unfamiliarterrain? And how can some pets predict that their owners are aboutto have an epileptic fit? These intriguing questions about animal behavior convincedworld-renowned biologist Rupert Sheldrake that the very animals whoare closest to us have much to teach us about biology, nature, andconsciousness. Filled with captivating stories and thought-provoking analysis, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home is agroundbreaking exploration of animal behavior that will profoundlychange the way we think about animals, and ourselves. After fiveyears of extensive research involving thousands of people who ownand work with animals, Shel
From Publishers Weekly In this lively volume, Cambridge physicist Barrow (The Book ofNothing) considers the natural constants-the handful of seeminglyeternal numerical values, such as the speed of light, the weight ofthe proton, Planck's constant or the four dimensions of space andtime-that constitute the "bedrock" of physical reality. Theseconstants quantify some of the simplest statements that sciencemakes about the world, but as this fascinating work of popularscience demonstrates, they have profound implications for the fateof the universe and our place within it. And, Barrow hints, theymight not be truly constant. He traces scientists' evolvingunderstanding of the natural constants as they grew to assume acentral role in modern relativity theory and quantum mechanics, andoutlines ongoing attempts to determine whether they are justinexplicable facts of nature or the logical consequence of somefundamental Theory of Everything. He also raises importantphilosophical and even religious questions. The n
Details on a Major New Discovery included in a NewAfterwordWhy do we look the way we do? Neil Shubin, thepaleontologist and professor of anatomy who co-discoveredTiktaalik, the “fish with hands,” tells the story of our bodies asyou've never heard it before. By examining fossils and DNA, heshows us that our hands actually resemble fish fins, our heads areorganized like long-extinct jawless fish, and major parts of ourgenomes look and function like those of worms and bacteria. YourInner Fish makes us look at ourselves and our world in anilluminating new light. This is science writing at itsfinest—enlightening, accessible and told with irresistibleenthusiasm.
First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Springalerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers ofindiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes inthe laws affecting our air, land, and water. "Silent Spring becamea runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . Itis] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had notinspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one ofthe greatest nature writers in American letters" (PeterMatthiessen, for Time's 100 Most Influential People of theCentury). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates RachelCarson's watershed book with a new introduction by the author andactivist Terry Tempest Williams and a new afterword by theacclaimed Rachel Carson biographer Linda Lear, who tells the storyof Carson's courageous defense of her truths in the face ofruthless assault from the chemical industry in the year followingthe publication of Silent Spring and before her untimely death in1964.
"The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place." A bookto be read for pleasure as well as a practical identificationguide, The Edge of the Sea introduces a world of teeming life wherethe sea meets the land. A new generation of readers is discoveringwhy Rachel Carson's books have become cornerstones of theenvironmental and conservation movements. New introduction by SueHubbell. (A Mariner Reissue)
In his first book since the bestselling Fermat's Enigma ,Simon Singh offers the first sweeping history of encryption,tracing its evolution and revealing the dramatic effects codes havehad on wars, nations, and individual lives. From Mary, Queen ofScots, trapped by her own code, to the Navajo Code Talkers whohelped the Allies win World War II, to the incredible (andincredibly simple) logisitical breakthrough that made Internetcommerce secure, The Code Book tells the story of the mostpowerful intellectual weapon ever known: secrecy. Throughout the text are cleartechnological and mathematical explanations, and portrayals of theremarkable personalities who wrote and broke the world's mostdifficult codes. Accessible, compelling, and remarkablyfar-reaching, this book will forever alter your view of history,what drives it, and how private that e-mail you just sent reallyis.
