A History of Science in Society is a concise overview that introduces complex ideas in a non-technical fashion. Ede and Cormack trace the history of the changing place of science in society and explore the link between the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to make that knowledge useful.New topics in this edition include astronomy and mathematics in ancient Mayan society, science and technology in ancient India and China, and Islamic cartography. New "Connections" feature...

A History of Science in Society is a concise overview that introduces complex ideas in a non-technical fashion. Andrew Ede and Lesley B. Cormack trace the history of science through its continually changing place in society and explore the link between the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to make that knowledge useful.In this edition, the authors examine the robust intellectual exchange between East and West and provide new discussions of two women in science: Maria Merian...

The most anticipated nonfiction book of the season, this year's Massey Lectures is a visionary look at the way the human mind can shape the future by world-renowned physicist Neil Turok.Every technology we rely on today was created by the human mind, seeking to understand the universe around us. Scientific knowledge is our most precious possession, and our future will be shaped by the breakthroughs to come.In this personal, visionary, and fascinating work, Neil Turok, Direc...

Drawing on the lives of five great scientists, this “scholarly, insightful, and beautifully written book” (Martin Rees, author of From Here to Infinity) illuminates the path to scientific discovery.Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein all made groundbreaking contributions to their fields—but each also stumbled badly. Darwin’s theory of natural selection shouldn’t have worked, according to the prevail...

From a bestselling author, an “incendiary and uproarious” assault on the pretensions of scientific atheists (National Review)Militant atheism is on the rise. Prominent thinkers including Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have published best-selling books denigrating religious belief. And these authors are merely the leading edge of a larger movement that includes much of the scientific community. In response, mathematici...

An enjoyable and compelling ride through one of life’s most fascinating enigmas“What, then, is time? If no one ask of me, I know,” St. Augustine of Hippo lamented. “But if I wish to explain to him who asks, I know not.”Who wouldn’t sympathize with Augustine’s dilemma? Time is at once intimately familiar and yet deeply mysterious. It is thoroughly intangible: We say it flows like a river — yet when we try to examine that flow, the river seems reduced to a mirage. No wonder p...

The companion volume for the award-winning PBS and BBC series from "one of the most intriguing minds in the western world" ( The Washington Post).The Day the Universe Changed presents a sweeping view of the history of science, technology, and human civilization and examines the moments in history when a change in knowledge radically altered man's understanding of himself and the world around him.James Burke examines eight periods in history ...

An eloquent and accessible journey through our evolving notions of the cosmos from "the best science writer of his generation" ( Washington Post).From the second-century celestial models of Ptolemy to modern-day research institutes and quantum theory, our perception of the universe—and out place in it—has changed drastically. This classic book offers a breathtaking tour of astronomy and the brilliant, eccentric personalities who have shaped it through the a...

Science: A Four Thousand Year History rewrites science's past. Instead of focussing on difficult experiments and abstract theories, Patricia Fara shows how science has always belonged to the practical world of war, politics, and business. Rather than glorifying scientists as idealized heroes, she tells true stories about real people - men (and some women) who needed to earn their living, who made mistakes, and who trampled down their rivals in their quest for success. Fara sweeps ...

Prolific author Joseph P. Farrell, who commands a growing and devoted audience on Coast to Coast AM, Erskine Overnight, and other programs, initiates his Feral House association with The Philosopher’s Stone, in which he demonstrates the connections of modern physics and ancient alchemy by investigating monatomic gold, the work of Russian astrophysicist Nikolai Kozyrev, and the fuel for the mysterious Nazi "Bell" device, Serum 525.Farrell’s previous books ...

A spirited volume on the great adventures of science throughout history, for curious readers of all ages“In Mr. Bynum’s telling, a little history goes a long way.”—Alan Hirshfeld, Wall Street JournalFor readers of all ages, this inviting book tells a great adventure story: the history of science. It takes readers to the stars through the telescope, as the sun replaces the earth at the center of our universe. It digs beneath the sur...

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed such fervent investigations of the natural world that the period has been called the 'Scientific Revolution.' New ideas and discoveries not only redefined what human beings believed, knew, and could do, but also forced them to redefine themselves with respect to the strange new worlds revealed by ships and scalpels, telescopes and microscopes, experimentation and contemplation.Driven by religious devotion, by practical need, by the promise ...