This latest book in the bestselling '50 Ideas' series is a wonderfully accessible overview of the only place we know of in the universe that is capable of sustaining life.
The mind behind the infamous Ig Nobel Prizes presents an addictive collection of improbable research all about us and you Marc Abrahams collects the odd, the imaginative and the brilliantly improbable.
An unparalleled introduction to how the science of the small explains the biggest phenomena of lifeFrom the atom to our societies, this is an unparalleled introduction to how the science of the small explains the biggest phenomena of life.
The definitive, behind-the-scenes account of the greatest science story of our time Winner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books A Best Science Book of the Year for the Guardian, Financial Times, and New Scientist It was the universe's most elusive particle, the linchpin for everything scientists dreamed up to explain how physics works.
In her fantastically disgusting international bestseller, Mary Roach dives into the strange wet miracles of science that operate inside us after every meal SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY WINTON PRIZE 2014 ';Almost every page made me laugh out loud.
So the world didn't end on 10 September 2008: but maybe it got you thinkingThe world didn't end on 10 September 2008, but the possibility may have got you thinking: was it worth the risk?
From magic to the Enlightenment; Darwinism to nuclear weaponsWeaving together intellectual history, philosophy, and social studies, Sean Johnston offers a unique appraisal of the history of science and the nature of this evolving discipline.
Meet the players in the most fundamental scientific revolution since Copernicus The Facts of MatterIt is one of the most disturbing aspects of our universe: only four per cent of it consists of the matter that makes up every star, planet, and every book.
Laugh out loud and then think seriously about these outlandish scientific studiesMarc Abrahams, the mind behind the internationally renowned Ig Nobel Prizes, is on a mission: to gather the bizarre, the questionable, the brilliant, the downright funny, the profound everything improbable from the annals of science research.
A journey to uncover the evolution of ideas, from the wheel to the wearing of moustachesAdopting the part of a cultural Darwin, science writer and filmmaker Jonnie Hughes goes on a road trip through the exotic American Midwest to observe the natural history of ideas.
Most cultures tell the tale of a maiden who gives birth untouched by a man, and in the wild there are plenty of creatures turkeys, Komodo dragons, and the Jesus Christ lizard (which even walks on water) that take various approaches to making babies without having sex.
From Stonehenge to beyond the Big Bang, an exhilarating scientific exploration of how we make timeFrom a Palaeolithic farmer living by the sun and stone plinths to the factory worker logging into an industrial punch clock to the modern manager enslaved to Outlook's 15-minute increments, our relationship with time has constantly evolved alongside our scientific understanding of the universe.
The new branch of science which will reveal how to avoid the rush hour, overcome cancer, and find the perfect dateWhat do traffic jams, stock market crashes, and wars have in common?
Gaining notoriety as the science behind the controversial experiments of the Large Hadron Collider, particle physics explores our most fundamental and mind-blowing problems: How did the Universe start?
Acerbic dark humour meets hardcore science in this mind-boggling exploration of the nine worst ways the world could endDiscover the mind-boggling science of the coming apocalypse!
A highly entertaining and accessible introduction to our planet from the bestselling author of In Search of Schrdinger's Cat, The Scientists, and In Search of the MultiverseIn this lively expedition into the origins, evolution, and workings of our planet, John Gribbin does what he does best: gathers 4.
Stronghold is Tucker Malarkey s enthralling account of an unlikely visionary, Guido Rahr, and his crusade to protect the world s last bastion of wild salmon.
Winner of the British Psychological Society Book Award for Popular PsychologyPsychologists have long been aware that most people tend to maintain an irrationally positive outlook on life.
Using modern psychological science, a great deal of research, historical anecdotes and an eloquent turn of phrase, the author contends that the 'seven deadly sins' not only feel good, but are also good for you.
Most of us believe that we possess a self - an internal individual who resides inside our bodies, making decisions, authoring actions and possessing free will.
A mathematical sightseeing tour of the natural world from the author of THE MAGICAL MAZEWhy do many flowers have five or eight petals, but very few six or seven?
Susan Greenfield, one of the world's pre-eminent scientists, takes the reader on a guided tour of the final frontier in human understanding: the brain.
'One of the clearest and best-illustrated attempts to explain the virtually inaccessible, the brain' SUNDAY TIMESBrain scans reveal our thoughts, memories - even our moods - as clearly as an X-ray reveals our bones.
From the IgNobel-winning author of How to Dunk a Doughnut, another slice of the weird and wonderful side of scienceGood science and common sense often don't mix.
In this sweeping history of more than 3 000 years, beginning with Ancient Egypt, scientist Marcus Byrne and writer, Helen Lunn capture the diversity of dung beetles and their unique behaviour patterns.
In this sweeping history of more than 3 000 years, beginning with Ancient Egypt, scientist Marcus Byrne and writer, Helen Lunn capture the diversity of dung beetles and their unique behaviour patterns.
When the famous South African fish scientist Professor JLB Smith published Old Fourlegs The Story of the Coelacanth in 1956 he created an international sensation.