Together, they explain virtually everything about the world we live in. But, almost a century after their advent, most people haven't the slightest clue what either is about. Did you know that there's so much empty space inside matter that the entire human race could be squeezed into the volume of a sugar cube? Or that you grow old more quickly on the top floor of a building than on the ground floor? And did you realize that 1 per cent of the static on a TV tuned between stations is the relic of the Big Bang? These and many other remarkable facts about the world are direct consequences of quantum physics and relativity. Quantum theory has literally made the modern world possible. Not only has it given us lasers, computers, and nuclear reactors, but it has provided an explanation of why the sun shines and why the ground beneath our feet is solid. Despite this, however, quantum theory and relativity remain a patchwork of fragmented ideas, vaguely understood at best and often utterly mysterious. average person. Author Marcus Chown emphatically disagrees. As Einstein himself said, Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone. If you think that the marvels of modern physics have passed you by, it is not too late. In Chown's capable hands, quantum physics and relativity are not only painless but downright fun. So sit back, relax, and get comfortable as an adept and experienced science communicator brings you quickly up to speed on some of the greatest ideas in the history of human thought.

    An extraordinary man, Shaun has been fascinated by wolves all his life, even living as part of a wild pack for two years with no human contact. What he gained was a unique and fascinating insight into their world, and that of our very own domestic dogs.

    This volume collects one example of each type of composition for which Bierce is most famed: a hilarious satire, a bone-chilling horror story, a sardonic piece of humor, and a macabre poem. Renowned artist Gahan Wilson, whose work finds the comic and the eerir in the most common of situations, brings the perfect, blackly humorous touch to Bierce's eccentrically unique visions.

    Sometime partner of the eccentric Howard Hughes, drinking buddy of William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway, an inveterate gambler and a notorious liar, Hawks was the most modern of the great masters and one of the first directors to declare his independence from the major studios. He played Svengali to Lauren Bacall, Montgomery Clift, and others, but Hawks's greatest creation may have been himself.As The Atlantic Monthly noted, "Todd McCarthy . . . has gone further than anyone else in sorting out the truths and lies of the life, the skills and the insight and the self-deceptions of the work." "A fluent biography of the great director, a frequently rotten guy but one whose artistic independence and standards of film morality never failed." -- The New York Times Book Review; "Hawks's life, until now rather an enigma, has been put into focus and made one with his art in Todd McCarthy's wise and funny Howard Hawks." -- The Wall Street Journal; "Excellent . . . a respectful, exhaustive, and appropriately smartass look at Hollywood's most versatile director." -- Newsweek.

    Gathering together previously unpublished photographs, lyrics, art, notes, and recollections from the Cash family archives, John Carter paints a portrait of his father’s inner life, and the values he imparted to his son and family. A record of a deep and ongoing conversations between father and son about what matters in life, House of Cash explores Johnny Cash’s quest to live deliberately as he worked to determine his values, share them with those close to him, and reaffirm them on a daily basis. Topics covered include the nature of creativity, the responsibilities that come with fatherhood and friendship, the need for humility and morality, the value of reading, and the obligation we all have to sympathize with the downtrodden. An intimate exploration of the personality and legacy of Johnny Cash, this is a unique portrait of a deeply spiritual, creative, and passionate soul whose music sprang from the way he lived.