Popular Science & Nature
21 Article(s)
A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME - FROM THE BIG BANG TO BLACK HOLES
ISBN : 9780553176988
Was there a beginning of time? Could time run backwards? Is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? These are just some of the questions considered in an internationally acclaimed masterpiece by one of the world''s greatest thinkers. It begins by reviewing the great theories of the cosmos from Newton to Einstein, before delving into the secrets which still lie at the heart of space and time, from the Big Bang to black holes, via spiral galaxies and strong theory. To this day A Brief History of Time remains a staple of the scientific canon, and its succinct and clear language continues to introduce millions to the universe and its wonders.>
SAPIENS
ISBN : 9780099590088
100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens. How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come? In Sapiens, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the radical - and sometimes devastating - breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights
THE ILLUSTRATED BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME
ISBN : 9780593077184
The illustrated edition of Stephen Hawking''s classic work - this edition includes an appendix with updates made by Professor Hawking in 2016. In this edition, Professor Hawking explains his complex theories through a fresh visual dimension. Over one hundred and fifty stunning colour illustrations have been specially commissioned for this purpose to help the reader understand what have become popular mythic images of our century, but which nonetheless remain difficult, abstract ideas to grasp.
GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL - A SHORT HISTORY OF EVERYBODY FOR THE LAST 13 000 YEARS
ISBN : 9780099302780
This work abandons the conventional distinctions between history and science. Diamond focuses on what ancient people were endowed with in the way of land, animals and plants, and on the confrontations between less and more advanced people to see how this led to today's inequalities.
21 LESSONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
ISBN : 9781784708283
**FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER SAPIENS** Sapiens showed us where we came from. Homo Deus looked to the future. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century explores the present. How can we protect ourselves from nuclear war, ecological cataclysms and technological disruptions? What can we do about the epidemic of fake news or the threat of terrorism? What should we teach our children? Yuval Noah Harari takes us on a thrilling journey through today's most urgent issues. The golden thread running through his exhilarating new book is the challenge of maintaining our collective and individual focus in the face of constant and disorienting change. Are we still capable of understanding the world we have created?
MONEY
ISBN : 9781784874025
Selected from the books Sapiens and Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari How did money come to be invented? Why does it now have such significance in our lives? Does it make us happier or unhappier? And what does the future hold for it? With brilliant clarity and insight, Yuval Noah Harari takes the reader on a journey from the very first coins through to 21st century economics and shows us how we are all on the brink of a revolution, whether we like it or not. VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS. A series of short books by the world's greatest writers on the experiences that make us human Also in the Vintage Minis series: Home by Salman
Science in the Soul
ISBN : 9781784162016
Science in the Soul is a kaleidoscopic argument for the power and the glory of science. Breathtaking, brilliant and passionate, the essays, journalism, lectures and letters in this new collection make an unanswerable case for the wonder of scientific discovery and its power to stir the imagination. More than forty pieces are gathered here, with an introduction and new commentary by the author in dialogue with himself across the years. They range over subjects from evolution and Darwinian natural selection to the probability of alien life in other worlds and the beauties, cruelties and oddities of earthly life in this one. A sparkling showcase for his rapier wit, the clarity, precision and vigour he brings to an argument, the beauty of his prose, the depth of his feeling and his capacity for joy, Science in the Soul is further evidence of Richard Dawkins' status as one of science's all-time great communicators.
Behave - The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
ISBN : 9780099575061
Why do human beings behave as they do ? We are capable of savage acts of violence but also spectacular feats of kindness : is one side of our nature destined to win out over the other ? Every act of human behaviour has multiple layers of causation, spiralling back seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, even centuries, right back to the dawn of time and the origins of our species. In the epic sweep of history, how does our biology affect the arc of war and peace, justice and persecution ? How have our brains evolved alongside our cultures ? This is the exhilarating story of human morality and the science underpinning the biggest question of all : what makes us human ?
SAPIENS
ISBN : 9781784873646
PATTERNS OF LIFE: SPECIAL EDITIONS OF GROUNDBREAKING SCIENCE BOOKS Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us. We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us Sapiens? In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we're going. Sapiens is a thrilling account of humankind's extraordinary history - from the Stone Age to the Silicon Age - and our journey from insignificant apes to rulers of the world. 'Unbelievably good. Jaw dropping from the first word to the last' Chris
Entangled life
ISBN : 9781784708276
''A dazzling, vibrant, vision-changing book. I ended it wonderstruck at the fungal world. A remarkable work by a remarkable writer'' Robert Macfarlane, author of Underland The more we learn about fungi, the less makes sense without them. Neither plant nor animal, they are found throughout the earth, the air and our bodies. They can be microscopic, yet also account for the largest organisms ever recorded. They enabled the first life on land, can survive unprotected in space and thrive amidst nuclear radiation. In fact, nearly all life relies in some way on fungi. These endlessly surprising organisms have no brain but can solve problems and manipulate animal behaviour with devastating
VESPER FLIGHTS
ISBN : 9780099575467
Animals don''t exist to teach us things, but that is what they have always done, and most of what they teach us is what we think we know about ourselves. From the bestselling author of H is for Hawk comes Vesper Flights , a transcendent collection of essays about the human relationship to the natural world. Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best-loved writing along with new pieces covering a thrilling range of subjects. There are essays here on headaches, on catching swans, on hunting mushrooms, on twentieth-century spies, on numinous experiences and high-rise buildings; on nests and wild pigs and the tribulations of farming ostriches. Vesper