Book picks similar to
Night Sky by Ian Ridpath


science
astronomy
reference
nonfiction

The Oxford Companion to Beer


Garrett Oliver - 2011
    After water and tea, it is the most popular drink in the world, and it is at the center of an over $450 billion industry. With the emergence of craft brewing and homebrewing, beer is experiencing a renaissance that is expanding the reach of the beer culture even further, bringing the art of brewing into homes and widening the interest in beer as an important cultural item.The Oxford Companion to Beer is the first reference work to fully investigate the history and vast scope of beer, from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and social and political implications of sharing a beer. Entries not only define terms such as "spent grain" and "wort," but give fascinating details about how these and other ingredients affect a beer's taste, texture, and popularity. Cultural entries on such topics as drinking songs or beer gardens offer vivid accounts of how our drinking traditions have shifted through history, and how these traditions vary in different parts of the world, from Japan to Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil, among many other countries. The pioneers of beer-making are the subjects of biographical entries; the legacies they left behind, in the forms of the world's most popular beers and breweries, are recurrent themes throughout the book. Collectively the Companion has over 1,100 entries--written by 150 of the world's most prominent beer experts--as well as a foreword by renowned chef Tom Colicchio (star of television's Top Chef), thorough appendices, conversion tables, images throughout, and an index. Flipping through the book, readers will discover everything from why beer was first taxed to how drinkers throughout history have overcome temperance movements and how an "ale conner" determined the quality of a beer in the thirteenth century. (It involved sitting in a puddle of beer.)The Companion is comprehensive, unprecedented, and of great value to anyone who has ever had a curiosity or appetite for beer.

100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington


William L. Sullivan - 2006
    A color wildflower identification guide is included in the 20 pages of color photos. The back of the book includes brief descriptions of 109 more hikes.

Gravitation and Cosmology: Principles and Applications of the General Theory of Relativity


Steven Weinberg - 1972
    Unique in basing relativity on the Principle of Equivalence of Gravitation and Inertia over Riemannian geometry, this book explores relativity experiments and observational cosmology to provide a sound foundation upon which analyses can be made. Covering special and general relativity, tensor analysis, gravitation, curvature, and more, this book provides an engaging, insightful introduction to the forces that shape the universe.

The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy & Mathematics from Albert Einstein to Stephen W. Hawking & from Annie Dillard to John Updike


Timothy Ferris - 1991
    Each expresses a perspective on the Sciences.

Simon Schuster's Guide to Rocks and Minerals


Martin Prinz - 1978
    This field guide is divided into two large sections -- one devoted to minerals and one to rocks, each prefaced by a comprehensive introduction that discusses formation, chemistry, and more. All 377 entries, beautifully illustrated with color photographs and helpful visual symbols, provide descriptions and practical information about appearance, classification, rarity, crystal formation, mode of occurrence, gravity of mineral, rock chemistry, modal classification fields, formational environments, grain sizes of rocks, and much more. Whether you are a serious collector or an information-seeking amateur, this incomparably beautiful, authoritative guide will prove an invaluable reference.

Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Guide to Baseball Parks Past & Present


Josh Leventhal - 2000
    New stadiums in this completely revised and updated edition include Citizens Bank Ballpark (Philadelphia), PETCO Park (San Diego), and the newly renovated RFK Stadium (Washington, D.C.) home to the Washington Nationals. Crammed with the statistics baseball fans love, Take Me Out to the Ballpark will hit a home run with legions of new readers this fall.

Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection


Jim Hrisoulas - 1987
    Written by a master bladesmith, this book tells you how to set up your forge, select your materials, fashion grips and hilts, grind edges and much more!

Carving Grand Canyon: Evidence, Theories, and Mystery


Wayne Ranney - 2005
    This story of a fascinating landscape is told in an engaging style that nonscientists will find inviting. The story’s end, however, remains a mystery yet to be solved.

Einstein's Universe


Nigel Calder - 1979
    It far surpasses any previous explanation of Relativity for laypersons.

Wicca: Wicca Starter Kit (Wicca for Beginners, Big Book of Spells and Little Book of Spells)


Sophia Silvervine - 2015
     Then this book can help you to get started. Wicca is a complicated religion, and the first step to starting as a Wiccan is to find out if Wicca is for you. There are indications that you may be right for Wicca, and some of them include an attraction to nature, stones, and meditation. From learning about Wiccan holidays to learning about the moon cycles, here you’ll have all the information you need to get started with celebrating and practicing Wicca. Inside you will learn about... ✓ Wiccan Holidays✓ Beginner Spells & Rituals✓ Wiccan Gods and Goddesses✓ The Five Elements✓ The Wiccan Altar✓ The Book of ShadowsThere’s no need to leave love, money, or success up in the air when you can find guidance in love spells, moonlight meditation and rituals that will help you to gain the energy you need to direct your magical essence. You’ll learn all about the elements and how to represent them, perform beginner spells, and make sure that you honor the God and the Goddess. ★ A Book of 30 Spells ★ Do you need a boost of self-esteem? Do you want more luck or financial success? Are you looking to add more magic into your life? Then this book is for you. This book will not only give you the spells that you need, but you’ll find that it also gives you the reasons behind the ingredients and the best time to perform them. Most of the spells in this book will not require a lot of ingredients, but with witchcraft it is important to realize that the fewer ingredients you use, the more energy it will need. If you have a spell with more ingredients, it is a more basic spell, and you’ll find basic spells in this book as well. You’ll find Spells For: ✓ Finding Love✓ Increasing Beauty✓ Job Applications ✓ Seven Days of Luck✓ Banishing Negative Energy✓ Cleansing & Purifying Items✓ Protection Against Spirits & Curses✓ Better Dreams✓ And Much, Much More!This book will help you to start casting spells with the right ingredients at the right time. There’s no guess work. It’s all about your power, your desires, and your needs. ★ A Little Book of 13 Spells ★ ✓ Good Luck Spell✓ Attracting Love Spell✓ Attracting Wealth Spell✓ A Spell for Good Health✓ Beauty Spell✓ Happiness Spell✓ Power Spell✓ Getting Rid of Bad Habits✓ Protection Spell✓ A Spell for Finding Lost Things✓ A Spell for Peaceful Sleep✓ Energy Spell✓ Confidence Spell

Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North American Species


Mark Elbroch - 2003
    How to find, identify, measure, and interpret the clues mammals leave behind--explained and illustrated like never before. Includes essays that contextualize tracking as a developing science continually garnering more interest and participation; included also are instructive anecdotes from the author's work as a tracker and wildlife expert. An invaluable resource for beginning or professional trackers and wildlife enthusiasts in all North American locations.

1,227 QI Facts to Blow Your Socks Off


John Lloyd - 2012
    We also write books and newspaper columns; run a thriving website, a Facebook page, a Twitter feed; and produce an iPhone App and a sister Radio 4 programme. At the core of what we do is the astonishing fact - painstakingly researched and distilled to a brilliant and shocking clarity. In Einstein's words: 'Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler.' Did you know that: cows moo in regional accents; the entire internet weighs less than a grain of sand; the dialling code from Britain to Russia is 007; potatoes have more chromosomes than human beings; the London Underground has made more money from its famous map than it has from running trains; Tintin is called Tantan in Japanese because TinTin is pronounced 'Chin chin' and means penis; the water in the mouth of a blue whale weighs more than its body; Scotland has twice as many pandas as Conservative MPs; Saddam's bunker was designed by the grandson of the woman who built Hitler's bunker; Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, it is explicitly illegal in Britain to use a machinegun to kill a hedgehog. 1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off will make you look at the universe (and your socks) in an alarming new way.

Yellowstone Treasures: The Traveler's Companion to the National Park


Janet Chapple - 2002
    Mile-by-mile road logs document every approach to the park and every interior road. Through charts and explanations, readers learn of Yellowstone's campgrounds and facilities, geyser basins and the frequency of the geyser eruptions, and out-of-the-way hikes. Updates include descriptions of new lodgings, scientific information reflecting recent research, 65 new color photos, and revised maps. A field guide to the animals and plants, a selected reading list, and a 21-page index round out this comprehensive guidebook.

Space at the Speed of Light: The History of 14 Billion Years for People Short on Time


Becky Smethurst - 2020
    In the 14 billion years since, scientists have pointed their telescopes upward, peering outward in space and backward in time, developing and refining theories to explain the weird and wonderful phenomena they observed.Through these observations, we now understand concepts like the size of the universe (still expanding), the distance to the next-nearest star from earth (Alpha Centauri, 26 trillion miles) and what drives the formation of elements (nuclear fusion), planets and galaxies (gravity), and black holes (gravitational collapse). But are these cosmological questions definitively answered or is there more to discover?Oxford University astrophysicist and popular YouTube personality Dr. Becky Smethurst presents everything you need to know about the universe in 10 accessible and engaging lessons.In Space at the Speed of Light: The History of 14 Billion Years for People Short on Time, she guides you through fundamental questions, both answered and unanswered, posed by space scientists. Why does gravity matter? How do we know the big bang happened? What is dark matter? Do aliens exist? Why is the sky dark at night? If you have ever looked up at night and wondered how it all works, you will find answers - and many more questions - in this pocket-sized tour of the universe!

In Search of Schrödinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality


John Gribbin - 1984
    It is so important that it provides the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no nuclear power or nuclear bombs, no lasers, no TV, no computers, no science of molecular biology, no understanding of DNA, no genetic engineering—at all. John Gribbin tells the complete story of quantum mechanics, a truth far stranger than any fiction. He takes us step-by-step into an ever more bizarre and fascinating place—requiring only that we approach it with an open mind. He introduces the scientists who developed quantum theory. He investigates the atom, radiation, time travel, the birth of the universe, superconductors and life itself. And in a world full of its own delights, mysteries and surprises, he searches for Schrödinger's Cat—a search for quantum reality—as he brings every reader to a clear understanding of the most important area of scientific study today—quantum physics.