The Brooklyn Bridge, London's Tower Bridge, Sydney's Harbour Bridge, San Francisco's Golden Gate--bridges can be breathtakingly monumental structures, magnificent works of art, and vital arteries that make life vastly easier. In Bridges, eminent structural engineer David Blockley takes readers on a fascinating guided tour of bridge construction, ranging from the primitive rope bridges (now mainly found in adventure movies), to Roman aqueducts and the timber trestle railway bridges of the American West, to today's modern marvels, such as the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which has the largest span in ... View More...
In 1887 in Washington, DC, 33 gentlemen met to consider the advisability of organizing a society for the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. From that meeting grew The National Geographic Society, an institution that is recognized by almost every American. View More...
One of the world's most beloved writers and New York Times bestselling author of A Walk in the Woods and The Body takes his ultimate journey--into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer.In A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson trekked the Appalachian Trail--well, most of it. In A Sunburned Country, he confronted some of the most lethal wildlife Australia has to offer. Now, in his biggest book, he confronts his greatest challenge: to understand--and, if possible, answer--the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as territ... View More...
Welcome to the wonderful world of graphene, the thinnest substance known to science. In 2003, Russian physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov found a way to produce graphene - the thinnest substance in the world - by using sticky tape to separate an atom-thick layer from a block of graphite. Their efforts would win the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics, and now the applications of graphene and other 'two-dimensional' substances form a worldwide industry. Graphene is far stronger than steel, a far better conductor than any metal, and able to act as a molecular sieve to purify water. Electroni... View More...
In sharply argued, fast-moving chapters, Cory Doctorow's Information Doesn't Want to Be Free takes on the state of copyright and creative success in the digital age. Can small artists still thrive in the Internet era? Can giant record labels avoid alienating their audiences? This is a book about the pitfalls and the opportunities that creative industries (and individuals) are confronting today -- about how the old models have failed or found new footing, and about what might soon replace them. An essential read for anyone with a stake in the future of the arts, Information Doesn't Want to Be F... View More...
One of the delights of life is the discovery and rediscovery of patterns of order and beauty in nature--the designs revealed by slicing through a head of cabbage or an orange, the forms of shells and butterfly wings. These images are awesome not just for their beauty alone, but because they suggest an order underlying their growth, a harmony existing in nature. What does it mean that such an order exists; how far does it extend? The Power of Limits was inspired by those simple discoveries of harmony. The author then went on to investigate and measure hundreds of patterns--ancient and modern,... View More...
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The New York Times-bestselling author of The Brain That Changes Itself presents astounding advances in the treatment of brain injury and illness. Now in an updated and expanded paperback edition. Winner of the 2015 Gold Nautilus Award in Science & Cosmology In his groundbreaking work The Brain That Changes Itself, Norman Doidge introduced readers to neuroplasticity--the brain's ability to change its own structure and function in response to activity and mental experience. Now his revolutionary new book shows how the amazing process of neuroplastic healing really wor... View More...
"Undeniably exquisite . . . Reveal s] not only how science actually happens but also who or what propels its immutable humanity." --Maria Popova "An excellent introduction to the key issues in science today." --P. D. Smith, Guardian " A] stellar compendium . . . Delightful to read." --Publishers Weekly, starred review A renowned scientist and the best-selling author of Lab Girl, Hope Jahren selects the year's top science and nature writing from writers who balance research with humanity and in the process uncover riveting stories of discovery across disciplines.... View More...
The burgeoning new science of epigenetics offers a cornucopia of insights--some comforting, some frightening. For example, the male fetus may be especially vulnerable to certain common chemicals in our environment, in ways that damage not only his own sperm but also the sperm of his sons. And it's epigenetics that causes identical twins to vary widely in their susceptibility to dementia and cancer. But here's the good news: unlike mutations, epigenetic effects are reversible. Indeed, epigenetic engineering is the future of medicine. View More...
Elegantly written and deeply grounded in personal experience--works by Oliver Sacks come to mind--Physical Intelligence gives us a clear, illuminating examination of the intricate, mutually responsive relationship between the mind and the body as they engage (or don't engage) in all manner of physical action. Ever wonder why you don't walk into walls or off cliffs? How you decide if you can drive through a snowstorm? How high you are willing to climb up a ladder to change a lightbulb? Through the prisms of behavioral neurology and cognitive neuroscience, Scott Grafton brilliantly accounts for ... View More...
The eleventh edition of the popular annual series that Kirkus Reviews hails as "superb brain candy," The Best American Science Writing 2010 is a sterling collection of the most crucial, thought-provoking, and engaging science writing of the year. Edited by New York Times bestselling author and New Yorker staff writer Jerome Groopman and series editor Jesse Cohen, The Best American Science Writing 2010 offers provocative looks at the latest scientific developments--from the fields of genetics, environmentalism, astronomy, biochemistry, and more--and is an absolute must read for any fan of popul... View More...
An examination of the relationship between faith in God and the concept of ecological care within a crisis of biodiversity. For millennia plant and animal species have received little sustained attention as subjects of Christian theology and ethics in their own right. In Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love, Elizabeth A. Johnson concludes that love of the natural world is an intrinsic element of faith in God and that far from being an add-on, ecological care is at the center of moral life. Focused on the human dilemma of sin and redemptive grace, theology has considered the doctrine of c... View More...
NOW A #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Compelling....Kaku thinks with great breadth, and the vistas he presents us are worth the trip"--The New York Times Book Review The New York Times best-selling author of PHYSICS OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, PHYSICS OF THE FUTURE and HYPERSPACE tackles the most fascinating and complex object in the known universe: the human brain. For the first time in history, the secrets of the living brain are being revealed by a battery of high tech brain scans devised by physicists. Now what was once solely the province of science fiction has become a startling reality. Recording ... View More...
A major scientific revolution has begun, a new paradigm that rivals Darwin's theory in importance. At its heart is the discovery of the order that lies deep within the most complex of systems, from the origin of life, to the workings of giant corporations, to the rise and fall of great civilizations. And more than anyone else, this revolution is the work of one man, Stuart Kauffman, a MacArthur Fellow and visionary pioneer of the new science of complexity. Now, in At Home in the Universe, Kauffman brilliantly weaves together the excitement of intellectual discovery and a fertile mix of insight... View More...
Since the first test tube baby was born over 40 years ago, In Vitro Fertilization and other Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) have advanced in extraordinary ways, producing millions of babies. An estimated 20% of American couples use infertility services to help them conceive, andthat number is growing. Such technologies permit thousands of people, including gay and lesbian couples and single parents, to have offspring. Couples can now transmit or avoid passing on certain genes to their children, including those for chronic disease and, probably sometime soon, height and eyecolor as we... View More...
A book with the luster and allure of its subject, Pearls is the most spectacular volume ever produced on this prized gem. Blending history, science, and the jeweler's art to celebrate these natural treasures - as in Abrams' hugely successful Amber - this lavishly illustrated volume, shimmering with new color photography and archival images, traces the natural and cultural history of pearls around the world. Published to accompany an exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Field Museum in Chicago, Pearls begins with the earliest pearl artifacts found i... View More...
A guide to the state of research in molecular genetics, cell structure and function, the framework of ideas in which new work is interpreted and the connnections being made between different areas of research. Covering animal cells and human biology, it is suitable for students and non-specialists. View More...
In this provocative reinterpretation of the human experience, noted historian Robert S. McElvaine bridges the gap between evolutionary biology and history to create a new approach which he terms "biohistory." Here for the first time he presents a startlingly fresh thesis: misperceptions about sexual difference and procreative power have, along with misleading sexual metaphors, been the major forces in history.In a bold departure from the methods of conventional history, Eve's Seed shows how the interplay between our evolutionary heritage and changing environments has shaped the course of histo... View More...
What's the difference between an atom and an element? When is the universe going to end? When you understand science, you understand what makes up our known reality, from microscopic quarks to amazingly gigantic stars and black holes. So get a grip on the subject with this straightforward, fascinating, and illustrated collection of 101 science facts. From food chains to astronomy, it illuminates our world and beyond
The main objective of this text is to present a clear and comprehensive introduction to major topics in physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology, oceanography, and meteorology. The appealing full-color presentation includes numerous applications of current interest and emphasizes science as a human endeavor pivotal to modern society. In this fifth edition, many new or revised full-color illustrations and photographs enliven scientific concepts and capture student interest. "Scientific Enterprise" sections highlight the interconnection of different sciences, helping students view the sciences as ... View More...
What ants, bees, fish, and smart swarms can teach about communication, organization, and decision-making. The modern world may be obsessed with speed and productivity, but twenty-first-century humans actually have much to learn from the ancient instincts of swarmers. A fascinating new take on collective intelligence and its colorful manifestations in some of our most complex problems, The Smart Swarm introduces a compelling new understanding on solving our own problems relating to such topics as business, politics, and technology. This lively tour from National Geographic reporter Peter Mi... View More...
Ask a scientist about Hollywood, and you'll probably get eye rolls. But ask someone in Hollywood about science, and they'll see dollar signs: moviemakers know that science can be the source of great stories, with all the drama and action that blockbusters require. That's a huge mistake, says Randy Olson: Hollywood has a lot to teach scientists about how to tell a story--and, ultimately, how to do science better. With Houston, We Have a Narrative, he lays out a stunningly simple method for turning the dull into the dramatic. Drawing on his unique background, which saw him leave his job as a wo... View More...
