Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls: From McMahon to McMahon
James J. Dillon - 2005
Dillon.
Mathematics
Keith Devlin - 1988
A modern classic by an accomplished mathematician and best-selling author has been updated to encompass and explain the recent headline-making advances in the field in non-technical terms.
Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed
Carl Zimmer - 2011
This fascinating book showcases hundreds of eye-catching tattoos that pay tribute to various scientific disciplines, from evolutionary biology and neuroscience to mathematics and astrophysics, and reveals the stories of the individuals who chose to inscribe their obsessions in their skin. Best of all, each tattoo provides a leaping-off point for bestselling essayist and lecturer Zimmer to reflect on the science in question, whether it's the importance of an image of Darwin's finches or the significance of the uranium atom inked into the chest of a young radiologist.
The Quantum Ten: A Story of Passion, Tragedy, Ambition and Science
Sheilla Jones - 2008
The seeds of this problem were sewn eighty years ago when a dramatic revolution in physics reached a climax at the 1927 Solvay conference in Brussels.It’s the story of a rush to formalize quantum physics, the work of just a handful of men fired by ambition, philosophical conflicts and personal agendas. Sheilla Jones paints an intimate portrait of the ten key figures who wrestled with the mysteries of the new science of the quantum, along with a powerful supporting cast of famous (and not so famous) colleagues.The Brussels conference was the first time so many of the “quantum ten” had been in the same place: Albert Einstein, the lone wolf; Niels Bohr, the obsessive but gentlemanly father figure; Max Born, the anxious hypochondriac; Werner Heisenberg, the intensely ambitious one; Wolfgang Pauli, the sharp-tongued critic with a dark side; Paul Dirac, the silent Englishman; Erwin Schrödinger, the enthusiastic womanizer; Prince Louis de Broglie, the French aristocrat; Pascual Jordan, the ardent Aryan nationalist, who was not invited; and Paul Ehrenfest, who was witness to it all.This is the story of quantum physics that has never been told, an equation-free investigation into the turbulent development of the new science and its very fallible creators, including little-known details of the personal relationship between the deeply troubled Ehrenfest and his dear friend Albert Einstein. Jones weaves together the personal and the scientific in a heartwarming—and heartbreaking—story of the men who struggled to create quantum physics … a story of passion, tragedy, ambition and science.
Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality
Jonathan Aitken - 2013
Drawing from an abundance of new, previously unpublished material from the Thatcher Archive at Churchill College, Cambridge, Jonathan Aitken's fresh and original biography is a lively and perceptive exploration of the personality that dominated conservative British politics for more than 10 years and her profound and worldwide impact on the historical tapestry of her time. At once positive and critical in its assessment of her governance, Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality is crafted from the author's longtime personal relationship with his subject, his eyewitness account of public and private episodes in her life, and more than 100 interviews with the former Prime Minister's political colleagues and close personal friends. Penetrating and insightful, it chronicles one of the most remarkable political lives of our time.
Sciencia: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Astronomy for All
Burkard Polster - 2011
Lavishly illustrated with engravings, woodcuts, and original drawings and diagrams, Sciencia will inspire readers of all ages to take an interest in the interconnected knowledge of the modern sciences.Beautifully produced in thirteen different colors of ink, Sciencia is an essential reference and an elegant gift.Wooden Books was founded in 1999 by designer John Martineau near Hay-on-Wye. The aim was to produce a beautiful series of recycled books based on the classical philosophies, arts and sciences. Using the Beatrix Potter formula of text facing picture pages, and old-styles fonts, along with hand-drawn illustrations and 19th century engravings, the books are designed not to date. Small but stuffed with information. Eco friendly and educational. Big ideas in a tiny space. There are over 1,000,000 Wooden Books now in print worldwide and growing.
The Deep Hot Biosphere: The Myth of Fossil Fuels
Thomas Gold - 1998
Second, it proposes that the inhabitants of this subterranean biosphere are not plants or animals as we know them, but heat-loving bacteria that survive on a diet consisting solely of hydrocarbons that is, natural gas and petroleum. And third and perhaps most heretically, the book advances the stunning idea that most hydrocarbons on Earth are not the byproduct of biological debris ("fossil fuels"), but were a common constituent of the materials from which the earth itself was formed some 4.5 billion years ago.The implications are astounding. The theory proposes answers to often-asked questions: Is the deep hot biosphere where life originated, and do Mars and other seemingly barren planets contain deep biospheres? Even more provocatively, is it possible that there is an enormous store of hydrocarbons upwelling from deep within the earth that can provide us with abundant supplies of gas and petroleum?However far-fetched these ideas seem, they are supported by a growing body of evidence, and by the indisputable stature and seriousness Gold brings to any scientific debate. In this book we see a brilliant and boldly original thinker, increasingly a rarity in modern science, as he develops potentially revolutionary ideas about how our world works.
Sea Harrier Over The Falklands
'Sharkey' Ward - 1992
It is an outspoken account of inter-Service rivalries, and dangerous ignorance among many senior commanders.
The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another
Ainissa Ramirez - 2020
In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions--clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips--and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes, among other things, how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway's writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid's cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies.Ramirez shows how materials were shaped by inventors, but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences--intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors--particularly people of color and women--who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal--whether it's splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.
The Kaiser: War Lord of the Second Reich
Alan Warwick Palmer - 1978
Kaiser Wilhelm II, the cold, brutal ruler who represented the pride and swagger of Imperial Germany, and must take the bulk of the responsibility for the First World War. But who was the real man behind the image? Although his caricature is firmly etched on the mind, the Kaiser remains an elusive figure. Alan Palmer has set out to tell the story of the extraordinary life of this temperamentally insecure man who was outwardly so full of swagger and bombast -the epitome of the new, self-confident Germany. Born in a Prussia that was the supreme militaristic society of the post-Napoleonic era and accustomed from his earliest days to all the trappings and sounds of soldiery, Wilhelm was obsessed through-out his adolescence by the need to appear every inch a soldier. Alan Palmer has examined the Anglo-German background to Wilhelm's life and reign and he emphasizes his changing attitudes towards Britain - a country he both admired and resented. In particular he has thrown new light on the clash of imperial-isms in the 1890s, the Kaiser's visit to England in 1907 and on the attitude of the British government in the 1930s towards the exiled monarch. 'The Kaiser' is the definitive biography of one of the crucial figures of early 20th-century history, and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the era he dominated. Praise for Alan Palmer: ‘Mr Palmer is one of those rare historians who can unravel and enliven the motivations of diplomacy.' NEW STATESMAN 'This biography is in the classic tradition, a pleasure to read and unlikely to be replaced for many years.' Philip Ziegler, THE TIMES 'As may confidently be expected of so experienced an author's work, this is a lucid, scholarly study, tackling with skill the narration of a biography which is tangled with detail, true and false, because it is the story of a master of dissimulation and intrigue.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Mr Palmer, who has established a deservedly high reputation as a biographer with his studies of Metternich and Tsar Alexander I, here adds worthily to his oeuvre. He develops a new depth for English readers in Bismarck's personal and domestic life.' THE ECONOMIST Alan Palmer was head of the History Department at Highgate School from 1953 to 1969 when he gave up his post to concentrate on historical writing and research. His many books include ‘Metternich: Councillor of Europe’; ‘Alexander I: Tsar of War’ and ‘Bismarck’. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent publisher of digital books.
The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission
Jim Bell - 2015
The fantastic journey began in 1977, before the first episode of Cosmos aired. The mission was planned as a grand tour beyond the moon; beyond Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn; and maybe even into interstellar space. The fact that it actually happened makes this humanity's greatest space mission.In The Interstellar Age, award-winning planetary scientist Jim Bell reveals what drove and continues to drive the members of this extraordinary team, including Ed Stone, Voyager's chief scientist and the one-time head of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab; Charley Kohlhase, an orbital dynamics engineer who helped to design many of the critical slingshot maneuvers around planets that enabled the Voyagers to travel so far; and the geologist whose Earth-bound experience would prove of little help in interpreting the strange new landscapes revealed in the Voyagers' astoundingly clear images of moons and planets.Speeding through space at a mind-bending eleven miles a second, Voyager 1 is now beyond our solar system's planets. It carries with it artifacts of human civilization. By the time Voyager passes its first star in about 40,000 years, the gold record on the spacecraft, containing various music and images including Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," will still be playable.
Crete: The Battle And The Resistance
Antony Beevor - 1991
Little did they know that the British, using Ultra intercepts, had already laid a careful trap. It should have been the first German defeat of the war when a fatal misunderstanding turned the battle around.Prize-winning historian and bestselling author Antony Beevor lends his gift for storytelling to this important conflict, showing not only how the situation turned bad for Allied forces, but also how ferocious Cretan freedom fighters mounted a heroic resistance. Originally published in 1991, Crete 1941 is a breathtaking account of a momentous battle of World War II.
The Physics of the Buffyverse
Jennifer Ouellette - 2006
The weird and wonderful world of the Buffyversewhere the melding of magic and science is an everyday occurrenceprovides a fantastical jumping-off point for looking at complex theories of biology, chemistry, and theoretical physics. From surreal vampires, demons, and interdimensional portals to energy conservation, black holes, and string theory, The Physics of the Buffyverse is serious (and palatable) science for the rest of us. "
The Dream and the Tomb: A History of the Crusades
Robert Payne - 1984
Calling themselves "pilgrims of Christ," thousands of Europeans from all stations in life undertook the harsh and bloody quest to reclaim Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and Christ's tomb for Christendom. Robert Payne brings to life every step of the Crusaders' thousand-mile journey: the deprivation; the desperate, rapacious, and brutal raids for food and supplies; the epic battles for Antioch, Jerusalem, and Acre; the barbarous treatment of captives; and the quarreling European princes who vied for power and wealth in the Near East. An epic tale of the glorious and the base, of unshakable faith and unspeakable atrocities, The Dream and the Tomb captures not only the events but the very essence of the Crusades.
Citadel of God: A Novel about Saint Benedict
Louis de Wohl - 1959
Benedict, the father of Western monasticism, who played such a major role in the Christianization and civilization of post-Roman Europe in the sixth century. De Wohl weaves an intricate tapestry of love, violence and piety to recount with historical accuracy the story of St. Benedict and the tempestuous era in which he lived. Since there are no contemporary biographies of this major saint of history and the Church, de Wohl's inspired account is of significant importance on the subject of saint's lives for today's spiritual seekers. Having lived in an era of great immorality and vice, not unlike our world today, Benedict's story has a strong message for modern Christians who seek, as he did, to turn away from the wickedness of the world to find Christ in prayer, study and solitude.