The latest title in the bestselling 'Last Word' series from New Scientist magazine.

    This groundbreaking study shows why five central arguments promoting nuclear weapons are, in essence, myths. It is a myth: • that nuclear weapons necessarily shock and awe opponents, including Japan at the end of World War II • that nuclear deterrence is reliable in a crisis • that destruction wins wars • that the bomb has kept the peace for sixty-five years • and that we can’t put the nuclear genie back in the bottle Drawing on new information and the latest historical research, Wilson poses a fundamental challenge to the myths on which nuclear weapons policy is currently built. Using pragmatic arguments and an unemotional, clear-eyed insistence on the truth, he arrives at a surprising conclusion: nuclear weapons are enormously dangerous, but don’t appear to be terribly useful. In that case, he asks, why would we want to keep them? This book will be widely read and discussed by everyone who cares about war, peace, foreign policy, and security in the twenty-first century.

    Instead of an intelligent computer, Howie's ship is controlled by a man's brain and nervous system--a fellow spaceman named Eric who was critically injured in an accident. They are in orbit above Venus on a fact-finding mission when Eric reports the alarming news that he is unable to 'feel' the ramjets they need to get home. Upon investigation, Howie finds nothing wrong with the jets and begins to suspect that Eric is suffering from a paralyzing psychosis. Nebula Award(R) Nominee

    Images captured by twin sentient satellites show massive domes, imposing walls, and a grid work of buildings situated directly on the rim of Mars’ Grand Canyon, the Valles Marineris. With the resources of Earth draining away under the weight of human expansion, a plan is hatched to reclaim Mars from the cold grasp of death. A small band of explorers, astronauts, and scientists are sent to the red world in mankind's first interplanetary starship to begin construction on a human colony. Among them is a young archaeologist, named Harrison Raheem Assad, who is tasked with uncovering the secrets of the Martian ruins and their relation to the human race. Aided by the nearly boundless mind of a god-like artificial intelligence; the explorers battle space travel, harsh Martian weather, and the deepening mystery of the forgotten alien civilization. Begin the epic journey in Book One of the Ruins of Mars Trilogy.

    In an earlier book, Almost Like A Whale, he took on the extraordinary task of updating The Origin of Species, which he described as the “most original book of the millennium”. His latest book, Coral, follows once more in the footsteps of Darwin, who also wrote a detailed study of coral reefs.For a book with such a humble title, Coral covers a lot of ground, including Captain Cook’s bones; French nuclear tests; in-vitro fertilization; the De Beers’ diamond cartel; color blindness; chaos; immortality; and, of course, Charles Darwin himself. In the hands of a lesser author, such a seemingly disparate range of topics would result in a disjointed and rambling mess. But Jones weaves them around his theme to create a coherent and well-formed whole.Jones explores what coral can teach us about life on Earth, from the survival and decline of species to the role of cooperation in inter-species relationships. Drawing not only on biology, but also on history, politics, literature, economics and mythology, he leads the reader on a wide-ranging and always interesting exploration.He adds that if you have never visited a coral reef, now might be a good time. The book is subtitled A Pessimist in Paradise, and Jones foresees a grim future for the world’s reefs. Today, less than one fifth are protected. He argues that “greenhouse gases have proved impossible to control and marine pollution has been almost as intractable”. The decline of the world’s reefs has already begun and within about fifty years, Jones believes that many more will be gone.Jones is one of the best popularizers of science writing today and this book matches the high standards set by his earlier work. Despite the deeply pessimistic message, at times he still manages to elicit an almost Carl Sagan-esque sense of awe about the natural world.The threat to coral reefs from global warming and damage caused by agricultural runoff have become common topics of media reports. Yet, no matter how much you think you know about coral and coral reefs, you will learn plenty more from this book. (COSMOS Magazine)

    But Geoffrey's family, the vast Akinya business empire, has other plans. After the death of Eunice, Geoffrey's grandmother, erstwhile space explorer and entrepreneur, something awkward has come to light on the Moon, and Geoffrey is tasked - well, blackmailed, really - to go up there and make sure the family's name stays suitably unblemished. But little does Geoffrey realise - or anyone else in the family, for that matter - what he's about to unravel.Eunice's ashes have already have been scattered in sight of Kilimanjaro. But the secrets she died with are about to come back out into the open, and they could change everything.Or shatter this near-utopia into shards...

    Now that future looms before us. Don’t panic! This book is all you need to prepare for the new world that awaits us, providing indispensable cautionary advice on topics such as • bioenhancements: They’re not just for cyborgs anymore. • DNA sequencing and fingerprinting: What’s scarier than the government having your DNA on file? Try having it posted on the Internet.• human cloning: Just like you, only stronger, smarter, and more attractive. In other words: more dangerous. Our future may be populated by designer babies, genetically enhanced supersoldiers, and one (or more!) of your genetic duplicates, but all is not lost. How to Defeat Your Own Clone is the ultimate survival guide to what lies ahead. Just remember the first rule of engagement: Don’t ever let your clone read this book!

    think again.Academia Obscura is an irreverent glimpse inside the ivory tower, exposing the eccentric and slightly unhinged world of university life. Take a trip through the spectrum of academic oddities and unearth the Easter eggs buried in peer reviewed papers, the weird and wonderful world of scholarly social media, and rats in underpants.Procrastinating PhD student Glen Wright invites you to peruse his cabinet of curiosities and discover what academics get up to when no one's looking. Welcome to the hidden silly side of higher education.

    Mission Day 1179. Late at night inside the two-person Dragon spacecraft resting on the frozen surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, Derya Terzi put on headphones and became the first Earthling to hear the sloshing of the enormous subsurface ocean beneath his feet. Intoxicated with the promise of discovery, he could have sworn it was whispers between inscrutable creatures of the deep. He was convinced they were days away from settling the most profound and existential mystery known to humanity: are we alone in the universe?But that was 10 days ago, before disaster struck. Now, marooned a billion miles from home, what the surviving crew is about to go through will shatter the limits of friendship, courage, and the human spirit. “In addition to telling a truly immersive story – and one so realistic that the stakes always feel sky high – J.P. Landau continues the tradition of Sci-Fi meant to spur not just the imagination, but action toward a better future as well. He asks readers not simply to seriously consider the utility of space exploration, but to also remember how dangerous the journey will be – and how essential it is to the human condition.” — Kirkus Reviews

    It puts humanity's place in the universe into necessary perspective. Despite a history of controversy, the evidence for evolution continues to accumulate as a result of many separate strands of amazing scientific sleuthing.In The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries, Donald R. Prothero explores the most fascinating breakthroughs in piecing together the evidence for evolution. In twenty-five vignettes, he recounts the dramatic stories of the people who made crucial discoveries, placing each moment in the context of what it represented for the progress of science. He tackles topics like what it means to see evolution in action and what the many transitional fossils show us about evolution, following figures from Darwin to lesser-known researchers as they unlock the mysteries of the fossil record, the earth, and the universe. The book also features the stories of animal species strange and familiar, including humans--and our ties to some of our closest relatives and more distant cousins. Prothero's wide-ranging tales showcase awe-inspiring and bizarre aspects of nature and the powerful insights they give us into the way that life works.Brisk and entertaining while firmly grounded in fundamental science, The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries is a captivating read for anyone curious about the evidence for evolution and what it means for humanity.

    Norton's eye for the bizarre, amazing, and beautiful inhabitants of the oceans, and the eccentric characters who work, study, and live by the shore make his book a wonder-filled experience. An intrepid diver and distinguished scientist, Norton's writing is self-deprecating, very funny, and full of wry and intriguing anecdotes; he is an unfailingly delightful companion. Whether his setting is a bed of jewel anemones in an Irish lough, a giant California cavern shared with sea lions, a mildewed research station, or the glittering coral gardens of Sharm el Sheikh, his captivating prose always finds the mark. Sometimes following the shoreline with earlier beachcombers such as Darwin, John Steinbeck, and George Orwell, Norton also takes the reader to depths where the shapes of creatures living without sunlight defy imagination. Admirers of the gorgeous detail of Rachel Carson's The Sea Around Us will revel in Norton's writing, his observations, and irreverent wit.

    It’s an excruciatingly dull mission, yet it keeps him far away from his debts and the agencies that are chasing him down. But his fortunes change, along with the other four crew, when they discover a derelict spaceship in orbit around a binary asteroid. Scott’s share of the salvage bounty would be enough to clear his name and start a new life. All they have to do is retrieve an item of cargo and return it to Ceres. It should be simple. However, the cargo happens to be an experimental quantum device lost while en route to Europa, and ownership of this technology could fundamentally change the balance of power within the solar system. Now that word is out of its discovery, the Hermes finds itself being hunted down by those who want to take possession of this device, including the very people Scott has spent so much time and effort hiding from. And there's not a damn thing he can do about it. But Scott is getting pretty tired of running away. If he wants any hope of a new life, then he’s going to have to stand up and fight for it, even if that means endangering himself and his crew. Yet, after a lifetime of running and hiding, Scott’s not sure if he has what it takes—maybe he really is just one of life’s perpetual losers. Then again, there is a deep river of rage welling up inside him, born out of a lifetime of countless accumulated injustices, each one inching him ever closer to the edge—and this could be the one that finally makes him snap. About Entanglement: The story is set a few centuries into the future where humanity has colonized most of the inner solar system. The asteroid belt (The Belt) is now a hive of mining activity and ships ply the trade routes to Earth and Mars. The technology depicted is, for the most part, what I consider to be technically plausible, although I do stretch it a little with quantum entanglement. That said, you won’t need a calculator or a slide-rule to enjoy the story.

    For a shorter trip on a tight budget, the Moon is quite majestic and very quiet if you can make it during the off-season. With four-color illustrations and packed with real-world science, The Vacation Guide to the Solar System is the must-have planning guide for the curious space adventurer, covering all of the essentials for your next voyage, how to get there, and what to do when you arrive. Written by an astronomer from The American Museum of Natural History and one of the creators of the Guerilla Science collective, this tongue-in-cheek reference guide is an imaginative exploration into the What if of space travel, sharing fascinating facts about space, the planets in our solar system, and even some moons!"

    Born and raised in a small town, they enjoy a close relationship, though each has her own tastes and personality. But the Hensels also share a body. Their two heads sit side-by-side on a single torso, with two arms and two legs. They have not only survived, but have developed into athletic, graceful young women. And that, writes Mark S. Blumberg, opens an extraordinary window onto human development and evolution.In Freaks of Nature, Blumberg turns a scientist's eye on the oddities of nature, showing how a subject once relegated to the sideshow can help explain some of the deepest complexities of biology. Why, for example, does a two-headed human so resemble a two-headed minnow? What we need to understand, Blumberg argues, is that anomalies are the natural products of development, and it is through developmental mechanisms that evolution works. Freaks of Nature induces a kind of intellectual vertigo as it upends our intuitive understanding of biology. What really is an anomaly? Why is a limbless human a freak, but a limbless reptile-a snake-a successful variation?What we see as deformities, Blumberg writes, are merely alternative paths for development, which challenge both the creature itself and our ability to fit it into our familiar categories. Rather than mere dead-ends, many anomalies prove surprisingly survivable-as in the case of the goat without forelimbs that learned to walk upright. Blumberg explains how such variations occur, and points to the success of the Hensel sisters and the goat as examples of the extraordinary flexibility inherent in individual development.In taking seriously a subject that has often been shunned as discomfiting and embarrassing, Mark Blumberg sheds new light on how individuals-and entire species-develop, survive, and evolve.