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What happens when a graduate of MIT, the bastion of technological advancement, and his bride move to a community so primitive in its technology that even Amish groups consider it antiquated? Eric Brende conceives a real-life experiment: to see if, in fact, all our cell phones, wide-screen TVs, and SUVs have made life easier and better -- or whether life would be preferable without them. By turns, the query narrows down to a single question: What is the least we need to achieve the most? With this in mind, the Brendes ditch their car, electric stove, refrigerator, running water, and everything else motorized or "hooked to the grid" and begin an eighteen-month trial run -- one that dramatically changes the way they live, and proves entertaining and surprising to readers. Better OFF is a smart, often comedic, and always riveting book that also mingles scientific analysis with the human story, demonstrating how a world free of technological excess can shrink stress -- and waistlines -- and expand happiness, health, and leisure. Our notion that technophobes are backward gets turned on its head as the Brendes realize that the crucial technological decisions of their adopted Minimite community are made more soberly and deliberately than in the surrounding culture, and the result is greater -- not lesser -- mastery over the conditions of human existence.
He studied with Niels Bohr, taught Richard Feynman, and boned up on relativity with his friend and colleague Albert Einstein. John Archibald Wheeler's fascinating life brings us face to face with the central characters and discoveries of modern physics. He was the first American to learn of the discovery of nuclear fission, coined the term "black hole," led a renaissance in gravitation physics, and helped to build Princeton University into a mecca for physicists. From nuclear physics to quantum theory to relativity and gravitation, Wheeler's work has set the trajectory of research for half a century. His career has brought him into contact with the most brilliant minds of his field; Fermi, Bethe, Rabi, Teller, Oppenheimer, and Wigner are among those he's called colleague and friend. In this rich autobiography, Wheeler reveals in colorful detail the excitement of each discovery, the character of each colleague, and the underlying passion for knowledge that drives him still.
(3)'Riding Rockets is the story of space-age America in all its glory and folly as seen through the eyes of a remarkable writer who has brilliantly captured the triumphant and tragic years of the Space Shuttle era.' Homer Hickam, author of October Sky
Quick, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the double helical structure of DNA? Most people would say Watson and Crick. But most people would make Maurice Wilkins very upset. The Rodney Dangerfield of biology, Wilkins shared the prize with Watson and Crick but missed out on the limelight, due largely to Watson's hit book, The Double Helix. Wilkins thought the book was so misleading he asked Harvard University Press not to publish it. Things have quieted down a bit now, and Wilkins is now telling the story his way. This book tells how he showed his colleagues the x-ray picture that gave them their crucial insight, and about his interactions with Rosalind Franklin, the researcher who actually created the picture, and who also received very little credit for her role in the discovery. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the DNA discovery. Finally Wilkins gets to have his say.
A shot of the purest oxygen (Simon Winchester )
It fizzes (John Gapper FT )
Entertaining ... clear-sighted and intelligent (The New Yorker )
[Johnson is] an infectiously exciting writer ... The Invention of Air is delightful to read (Salon )
Packed with excellent stuff (Russell Davies )
Johnson paints Priestley not as a man of the past but precisely the sort of figure the world needs more than ever (New York Post )
"People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."--Albert Einstein Best-selling author and physicist Stephen Hawking assembles the most groundbreaking works by Albert Einstein together into one volume. From the text that revealed the famous "Theory of Relativity"--renowned as the most important scientific discovery of the 20th Century--to his significant works on quantum theory, statistical mechanics, and the photoelectric effect, here are the writings that changed physics, and subsequently, the way we view the world. Einstein also thought deeply on both political issues and religious thought, so many of Einstein's philosophical essays are included. Hawking provides introductions to each work, which provides both historical and scientific perspective. From the papers that shaped modern scientific thought to Einstein's later musings on his landmark findings, A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion is a collection of Einstein's most important work, with commentary from our greatest living physicist.
Fraser's well researched contribution provides a transparent description on the creation of the standard model that merits attention from physicists and historians alike. Cosmic Anger is highly recommended. (Optics Journal )
Gordon Fraser's enigmatically titled biography,Cosmic Anger: Abdus Salam - The First Muslim Nobel Scientist, is immensely engaging, and its numerous anecdotes will titillate physicists. (Pervez Hoodbhoy, Physics Today )
I find the book to be a well written account of the achievements of a genius who was a citizen of the world, destined to play a memorable role in the global development of science and technology. (CERN Courier )
An intriguing biography, a striking, frequently moving story [...], Cosmic Anger is an important work, not just in terms of its biographical revelations, but for the light it shines on the dark, irrational times we now inhabit. (Robin McKie, The National, August 2008 )
Gordon Fraser...has produced a rich and varied biography...in this sensitive account. Salam's contributions on the international scene shine out. (Simon Mitton, Times Higher Education Supplement )
More than a biography of a great scientist, this book provides a wider political and historical commentary. And while some of the details of Salam's physics may be incomprehensible to those without a background in the subject, the politics of the indian subcontinent, and the status of science in Islam, both past and present, makes this an important and enlightening read. (Jim al-Khalili, NewScientist )
Fascinating and delightful. Although I knew Salam well, I learned much from this account. Salam's truly remarkable multi-faceted character is well mirrored here. The book is beautifully written, and handles many delicate political and personal issues with sensitivity and understanding. Very authoritative and insightful, giving a rounded picture of a very complex man. (Tom Kibble, Imperial College London )
