iBooks Top Science and Nature Ebooks

The bestselling Science and Nature Ebooks at Apple's iBookstore. The chart list of the most popular science and nature iBooks updated daily.

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Science and Nature Ebook Best Sellers

1

Sapiens - Yuval Noah Harari Cover Art

Sapiens

Sapiens A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

#1 New York Times Bestseller • New York Times Readers’ Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century • The Summer Reading Pick for President Barack Obama and Bill Gates Official U.S. edition with full color illustrations throughout. From renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be “human.” One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one—homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us? Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas. Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because over the last few decades humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us, but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become? Featuring 27 photographs, 6 maps, and 25 illustrations/diagrams, this provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential reading for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

2

Hidden Wonders - Étienne Guyon, Jose Bico, Etienne Reyssat & Benoit Roman Cover Art

Hidden Wonders

Hidden Wonders The Subtle Dialogue Between Physics and Elegance by Étienne Guyon, Jose Bico, Etienne Reyssat & Benoit Roman

Look through a physicist’s lens to revel in the hidden elegance of 200+ everyday objects and physical mechanisms, from crumpled paper to sandcastles. Includes 35 science experiments that bring physics concepts to life in your own kitchen! Hidden Wonders focuses on the objects that populate our everyday life—crumpled paper, woven fabric, a sand pile—but looks at them with a physicist’s eye, revealing a hidden elegance in mundane physical mechanisms. In 6 chapters and more than 200 illustrations, the authors present brief stories, set in locales ranging from the Eiffel Tower to a sandcastle, that illustrate the little wonders hidden in the ordinary. A simple experiment that readers can perform at home concludes each story. “A lovely reminder that amazing science needn’t be exotic or remote, but surrounds us every day . . .” —Philip Ball, author of Beyond Weird

3

A World Appears - Michael Pollan Cover Art

A World Appears

A World Appears A Journey into Consciousness by Michael Pollan

The Instant New York Times Bestseller "Pollan’s real genius—the word is not too strong—remains intact. That is his uncanny ability to scent the direction in which the culture is headed. He did it with food and psychedelics, and now, though A World Appears focuses on AI only intermittently, he has done it again." —Charles Finch, The Atlantic From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind , a panoptic exploration of consciousness—what it is, who has it, and why—and a meditation on the essence of our humanity When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: it feels like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience of the world remains one of nature’s greatest mysteries. How is it that our mental operations are accompanied by feelings, thoughts, and a sense of self? What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like, when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of the sea? In A World Appears , Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives—scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic—to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life. When neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy gray matter could generate a subjective point of view—assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality. Pollan takes us to the cutting edge of the field, where scientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness. He introduces us to “plant neurobiologists” searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants, scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of our slippery stream of consciousness. In Pollan’s dazzling exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than our everyday reality. Eye-opening and mind-expanding, A World Appears takes us into the laboratories of our own minds, ultimately showing us how we might make better use of the gift of awareness to more meaningfully connect with the world and our deepest selves.

4

Eight Bears - Gloria Dickie Cover Art

Eight Bears

Eight Bears Mythic Past and Imperiled Future by Gloria Dickie

Shortlisted for the Banff Centre Mountain Book Awards Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, Economist, and Science News • A Scientific American Staff Favorite "Vivid and engrossing.…[A] celebration of beardom." —Richard Adams Carey, Wall Street Journal A global exploration of the eight remaining species of bears—and the dangers they face. Bears have always held a central place in our collective memory, from Indigenous folklore and Greek mythology to nineteenth-century fairytales and the modern toy shop. But as humans and bears come into ever-closer contact, our relationship nears a tipping point. Today, most of the eight remaining bear species are threatened with extinction. Some, such as the panda bear and the polar bear, are icons of the natural world; others, such as the spectacled bear and the sloth bear, are far less known. In Eight Bears, journalist Gloria Dickie embarks on a globe-trotting journey to explore each bear’s story, whisking readers from the cloud forests of the Andes to the ice floes of the Arctic; from the jungles of India to the backwoods of the Rocky Mountain West. She meets with key figures on the frontlines of modern conservation efforts—the head of a rescue center for sun and moon bears freed from bile farms, a biologist known as Papa Panda, who has led China’s panda-breeding efforts for almost four decades, a conservationist retraining a military radar system to detect and track polar bears near towns—to reveal the unparalleled challenges bears face as they contend with a rapidly changing climate and encroaching human populations. Weaving together ecology, history, mythology, and a captivating account of her travels and observations, Dickie offers a closer look at our volatile relationship with these magnificent mammals. Engrossing and deeply reported, Eight Bears delivers a clear warning for what we risk losing if we don’t learn to live alongside the animals that have shaped our cultures, geographies, and stories.

5

The Weather Machine - Andrew Blum Cover Art

The Weather Machine

The Weather Machine A Journey Inside the Forecast by Andrew Blum

"[A] vivid account of the history and evolution of the modern forecast. . . . [Blum] is a sharp analyst and engaging guide" as well as the bestselling author of Tubes ( The Economist ). "[Blum] takes a dive into the forecasts of today and how they've advanced from a dream espoused nearly 180 years ago. . . . Totally fascinating to anyone with even a passing interest in weather or technology, and it lays the groundwork for really appreciating just how good we have it today." — Gizmodo In The Weather Machine , Andrew Blum takes readers on a fascinating journey through an everyday miracle. In a quest to understand how the weather forecast works, he visits old weather stations, watches new satellites blast off, and follows the dogged efforts of scientists to create a supercomputer model of the atmosphere. He discovers that though we are in a golden age of meteorology, using tools that allow us to predict the weather more accurately than ever, we haven't learned to trust those tools, nor can we guarantee the fragile international alliances that allow our modern weather machine to exist. Written with the sharp wit and infectious curiosity Andrew Blum is known for, The Weather Machine pulls back the curtain on the weather forecast, illuminating our relationships with technology, the changing planet, and the global community. "Sharp, stylist, and often surprising." —Peter Moore, author of The Weather Experiment "Exhilarating." —Lewis Darnell, author of Origins "A lucid and approachable guide to the satellites, scientists, and supercomputers that make up the forecasting system we so often take for granted." — Booklist

6

Gravity - Brian Clegg Cover Art

Gravity

Gravity How the Weakest Force in the Universe Shaped Our Lives by Brian Clegg

A history of gravity, and a study of its importance and relevance to our lives, as well as its influence on other areas of science. Physicists will tell you that four forces control the universe. Of these, gravity may be the most obvious, but it is also the most mysterious. Newton managed to predict the force of gravity but couldn't explain how it worked at a distance. Einstein picked up on the simple premise that gravity and acceleration are interchangeable to devise his mind-bending general relativity, showing how matter warps space and time. Not only did this explain how gravity worked—and how apparently simple gravitation has four separate components—but it predicted everything from black holes to gravity's effect on time. Whether it's the reality of anti-gravity or the unexpected discovery that a ball and a laser beam drop at the same rate, gravity is the force that fascinates.

7

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot Cover Art

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The story of modern medicine and bioethics—and, indeed, race relations—is refracted beautifully, and movingly.”— Entertainment Weekly NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM HBO® STARRING OPRAH WINFREY AND ROSE BYRNE • ONE OF THE “MOST INFLUENTIAL” (CNN), “DEFINING” ( LITHUB ), AND “BEST” ( THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER ) BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF ESSENCE ’S 50 MOST IMPACTFUL BLACK BOOKS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS • WINNER OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE HEARTLAND PRIZE FOR NONFICTION • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE CENTURY A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, NPR, Financial Times, New York, Independent (U.K.), Times (U.K.), Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Globe and Mail Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of. Over the decade it took to uncover this story, Rebecca became enmeshed in the lives of the Lacks family—especially Henrietta’s daughter Deborah. Deborah was consumed with questions: Had scientists cloned her mother? Had they killed her to harvest her cells? And if her mother was so important to medicine, why couldn’t her children afford health insurance? Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks captures the beauty and drama of scientific discovery, as well as its human consequences.

8

Junglekeeper - Paul Rosolie Cover Art

Junglekeeper

Junglekeeper What It Takes to Change the World by Paul Rosolie

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Most people assume that the world has been explored and true adventure is dead: This book is one man’s rebuttal. Explorer and conservationist Paul Rosolie shares his incredible life in the Amazon rainforest—and what we can learn from the people fighting to protect it. “On behalf of the forests that I love, thank you, Paul, for writing this book.”—Jane Goodall Deep in the Peruvian jungle, there exists a corner of the world that remains untouched—one teeming with giant anacondas, where the haunting cries of howler monkeys send brightly colored macaws shooting across the canopy. It’s an ecosystem of stupendous biodiversity, uncontacted tribes, and adventures that most people don’t even dare to dream of. When he first set foot in the jungle, Rosolie was a dyslexic kid from Brooklyn who struggled to graduate from high school but had an undeniable calling to the outdoors. He was lucky enough to meet the indigenous naturalist Juan Julio Durand, and together, over two decades, they have created Junglekeepers, an organization that has found a way to halt deforestation and protect more than 110,000 acres—inspiring millions along the way by documenting their progress online. But this work takes grit, and years in, Rosolie and Durand are past their “barefoot machete days,” grappling with chain saws, massive fires, illegal miners, and the worst of humanity. Here, Rosolie brings you up close and personal with one of the wildest places on the planet and tells the incredible story of “first contact” with one of the most mysterious uncontacted tribes on Earth: the Mashco Piro. This book is about the profound power of saying yes: yes to one’s calling, yes to sticking with your dream when it comes at a high cost, and yes to taking a stand to save what might otherwise be gone in a generation. It’s a story of calling, connectedness, and hope.

9

The Shepherd's Life - James Rebanks Cover Art

The Shepherd's Life

The Shepherd's Life Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape by James Rebanks

The New York Times bestseller and I nternational Phenomenon One of the Top Ten Books of 2015, Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times . "It's bloody marvelous." - Helen Macdonald, New York Times bestselling author of H IS FOR HAWK "Captivating... A book about continuity and roots and a sense of belonging in an age that's increasingly about mobility and self-invention. Hugely compelling." - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, his family have lived and worked in the Lake District of Northern England for generations, further back than recorded history. It's a part of the world known mainly for its romantic descriptions by Wordsworth and the much loved illustrated children's books of Beatrix Potter. But James' world is quite different. His way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand. It hasn't changed for hundreds of years: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the grueling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the hills and valleys. The Shepherd's Life the story of a deep-rooted attachment to place, modern dispatches from an ancient landscape that describe a way of life that is little noticed and yet has profoundly shaped the landscape over time. In evocative and lucid prose, James Rebanks takes us through a shepherd's year, offering a unique account of rural life and a fundamental connection with the land that most of us have lost. It is a story of working lives, the people around him, his childhood, his parents and grandparents, a people who exist and endure even as the culture - of the Lake District, and of farming - changes around them. Many memoirs are of people working desperately hard to leave a place. This is the story of someone trying desperately hard to stay.

10

Factfulness - Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund & Ola Rosling Cover Art

Factfulness

Factfulness Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund & Ola Rosling

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “One of the most important books I’ve ever read—an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world.” – Bill Gates “Hans Rosling tells the story of ‘the secret silent miracle of human progress’ as only he can. But Factfulness does much more than that. It also explains why progress is so often secret and silent and teaches readers how to see it clearly.” — Melinda Gates " Factfulness by Hans Rosling, an outstanding international public health expert, is a hopeful book about the potential for human progress when we work off facts rather than our inherent biases." - Former U.S. President Barack Obama Factfulnes s: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. When asked simple questions about global trends— what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school —we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. In Factfulness , Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens . They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective —from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them ) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. Inspiring and revelatory, filled with lively anecdotes and moving stories, Factfulness is an urgent and essential book that will change the way you see the world and empower you to respond to the crises and opportunities of the future. --- “This book is my last battle in my life-long mission to fight devastating ignorance…Previously I armed myself with huge data sets, eye-opening software, an energetic learning style and a Swedish bayonet for sword-swallowing. It wasn’t enough. But I hope this book will be.” Hans Rosling, February 2017.

11

The Elephant Whisperer - Lawrence Anthony & Graham Spence Cover Art

The Elephant Whisperer

The Elephant Whisperer My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony & Graham Spence

When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, his common sense told him to refuse. But he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them. In order to save their lives, Anthony took them in. In the years that followed he became a part of their family. And as he battled to create a bond with the elephants, he came to realize that they had a great deal to teach him about life, loyalty, and freedom. The Elephant Whisperer is a heartwarming, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad account of Anthony's experiences with these huge yet sympathetic creatures. Set against the background of life on an African game reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, it is a delightful book that will appeal to animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.

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Braiding Sweetgrass - Robin Wall Kimmerer Cover Art

Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass , Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert). Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.

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How the Brain Works - DK Cover Art

How the Brain Works

How the Brain Works The Facts Visually Explained by DK

Are men's and women's brains really different? Why are teenagers impulsive and rebellious? And will it soon be possible to link our brains together via the Cloud? Drawing on the latest neuroscience research, this visual guide makes the hidden workings of the human brain simple to understand. How the Brain Works begins with an introduction to the brain's anatomy, showing you how to tell your motor cortex from your mirror neurons. Moving on to function, it explains how the brain works constantly and unnoticed to regulate heartbeat and breathing, and how it collects information to produce the experiences of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The chapters that follow cover memory and learning, consciousness and personality, and emotions and communication. There's also a guide to the brain's disorders, including physical problems, such as tumors and strokes, and psychological and functional disorders, ranging from autism to schizophrenia. Illustrated with bold graphics and step-by-step artworks, and sprinkled with bite-sized factoids and question-and-answer features, this is the perfect introduction to the fascinating world of the human brain.

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A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking Cover Art

A Brief History of Time

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

#1  NEW YORK TIMES  BESTSELLER A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking’s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends? Told in language we all can understand,  A Brief History of Time  plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and “arrows of time,” of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.

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A Sand County Almanac: With Other Essays on Conservation from Round River - Aldo Leopold Cover Art

A Sand County Almanac: With Other Essays on Conservation from Round River

A Sand County Almanac: With Other Essays on Conservation from Round River by Aldo Leopold

First published in 1949 and praised in The New York Times Book Review as "a trenchant book, full of vigor and bite," A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land. Written with an unparalleled understanding of the ways of nature, the book includes a section on the monthly changes of the Wisconsin countryside; another part that gathers informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled through the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere; and a final section in which Leopold addresses the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation. As the forerunner of such important books as Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, and Robert Finch's The Primal Place, this classic work remains as relevant today as it was forty years ago.

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Entangled Life: The Illustrated Edition - Merlin Sheldrake Cover Art

Entangled Life: The Illustrated Edition

Entangled Life: The Illustrated Edition How Fungi Make Our Worlds by Merlin Sheldrake

Merlin Sheldrake’s New York Times bestseller, Entangled Life, is now a lavish visual journey into the hidden lives of fungi. When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms. But mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems. Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave.   In the first edition of the mind-bending, “gorgeous” (Margaret Atwood), ”brilliant [and] entrancing” ( The Guardian ) Entangled Life, Sheldrake introduced us to this mysterious but massively diverse kingdom of life. This new edition, abridged from the original, features over 100 full-color images that bring the spectacular variety, strangeness and beauty of fungi to life as never before.   Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life’s processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster. In vivid, surprising images, Sheldrake reveals how these extraordinary organisms—and our relationships with them—are changing our understanding of how life works.

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The Ghost Map - Steven Johnson Cover Art

The Ghost Map

The Ghost Map The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

A National Bestseller, a  New York Times  Notable Book, and an  Entertainment Weekly  Best Book of the Year from the author of Extra Life   “By turns a medical thriller, detective story, and paean to city life, Johnson's account of the outbreak and its modern implications is a true page-turner.” — The Washington Post “Thought-provoking.”  —Entertainment Weekly It's the summer of 1854, and London is just emerging as one of the first modern cities in the world. But lacking the infrastructure-garbage removal, clean water, sewers-necessary to support its rapidly expanding population, the city has become the perfect breeding ground for a terrifying disease no one knows how to cure. As the cholera outbreak takes hold, a physician and a local curate are spurred to action-and ultimately solve the most pressing medical riddle of their time. In a triumph of multidisciplinary thinking, Johnson illuminates the intertwined histories of the spread of disease, the rise of cities, and the nature of scientific inquiry, offering both a riveting history and a powerful explanation of how it has shaped the world we live in.

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Seven Brief Lessons on Physics - Carlo Rovelli Cover Art

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

The New York Times bestseller from the author of The Order of Time and Reality Is Not What It Seems , Helgoland , and Anaximander “One of the year’s most entrancing books about science.” —The Wall Street Journal “Clear, elegant...a whirlwind tour of some of the biggest ideas in physics.” — The New York Times Book Review   This playful, entertaining, and mind-bending introduction to modern physics briskly explains Einstein's general relativity, quantum mechanics, elementary particles, gravity, black holes, the complex architecture of the universe, and the role humans play in this weird and wonderful world. Carlo Rovelli, a renowned theoretical physicist, is a delightfully poetic and philosophical scientific guide. He takes us to the frontiers of our knowledge: to the most minute reaches of the fabric of space, back to the origins of the cosmos, and into the workings of our minds. The book celebrates the joy of discovery.  “Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world,” Rovelli writes. “And it’s breathtaking.”

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The Serviceberry - Robin Wall Kimmerer Cover Art

The Serviceberry

The Serviceberry Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

An Instant New York Times Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass , a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world. As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency.” As Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times, and a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual.” Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice.

20

The Concise Human Body Book - DK Cover Art

The Concise Human Body Book

The Concise Human Body Book An Illustrated Guide to its Structure, Function, and Disorders by DK

Discover all there is to know about human anatomy in DK's latest concise visual guide to the human body. Fully updated to reflect the latest medical information, The Concise Human Body Book is illustrated throughout with colorful and comprehensive diagrams, photographs, scans, and 3D artworks, which take you right into the cells and fibers that are responsible for keeping your body ticking. The Concise Human Body Book provides full coverage of the body, function by function, system by system. In the opening chapter, colorful medical scans, illustrations, and easy-to-understand diagrams show you how the different parts of the body work together to produce a living whole. Eleven main body systems - including the skeletal system, cardiovascular system, and respiratory system - are then covered in intricate detail in the following chapters, with each section ending on common diseases and disorders that can affect that system. From bones and muscles to systems and processes, this in-depth, pocket-sized guide to the body's physical structure, chemical workings, and potential problems is the must-have reference manual for trainee medical professionals, students, or anyone interested in finding out more about how the human body works.

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Breath - James Nestor Cover Art

Breath

Breath The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

THE MILLION COPY NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, FEATURING NEW MATERIAL "I highly recommend this book." —Wim Hof “A fascinating scientific, cultural, spiritual and evolutionary history of the way humans breathe—and how we’ve all been doing it wrong for a long, long time.” —Elizabeth Gilbert "This book is amazing. “ — Joe Rogan No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you’re not breathing properly. There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren’t found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of São Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe. Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is. Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again.

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Battle of the Big Bang - Niayesh Afshordi & Phil Halper Cover Art

Battle of the Big Bang

Battle of the Big Bang The New Tales of Our Cosmic Origins by Niayesh Afshordi & Phil Halper

“Excellent.”—Steven Poole, The Wall Street Journal • “Terrific.”—Liz Else, New Scientist (Best Popular Science Books of 2025 So Far) • “A brilliant overview of the state of modern cosmology.”—Alex O‛Connor, alexoconnor.com • “This will expand readers’ minds.”— Publishers Weekly • One of Smithsonian ’s Ten Best Science Books of 2025   “An intellectual feast.”—Carlo Rovelli • “A must-read.”—Sabine Hossenfelder • “Wonderfully broad and open-minded.”—Roger Penrose • “Remarkable.”—Brian Keating A thrilling exploration of competing cosmological origin stories, comparing new scientific ideas that upend our very notions of space, time, and reality.   By most popular accounts, the universe started with a bang some 13.8 billion years ago. But what happened before the Big Bang? And how do we know it happened at all? Here prominent cosmologist Niayesh Afshordi and science communicator Phil Halper offer a tour of the peculiar possibilities: bouncing and cyclic universes, time loops, creations from nothing, multiverses, black hole births, string theories, and holograms. Along the way, they offer both a call for new physics and a riveting story of scientific debate.   Incorporating insights from Afshordi’s cutting-edge research and Halper’s original interviews with scientists like Stephen Hawking, Roger Penrose, and Alan Guth,  Battle of the Big Bang compares these models for the origin of our origins, showing each theory’s strengths and weaknesses and explaining new attempts to test these notions. Battle of the Big Bang is a tale of rivalries and intrigue, of clashes of ideas that have raged from Greek antiquity to the present day over whether the universe is eternal or had a beginning, whether it is unique or one of many. But most of all, Afshordi and Halper show that this search is filled with wonder, discovery, and community—all essential for remembering a forgotten cosmic past.

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On the Origin of Time - Thomas Hertog Cover Art

On the Origin of Time

On the Origin of Time Stephen Hawking's Final Theory by Thomas Hertog

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Stephen Hawking’s closest collaborator offers the intellectual superstar’s final thoughts on the cosmos—a dramatic revision of the theory he put forward in A Brief History of Time . “This superbly written book offers insight into an extraordinary individual, the creative process, and the scope and limits of our current understanding of the cosmos.”—Lord Martin Rees Perhaps the biggest question Stephen Hawking tried to answer in his extraordinary life was how the universe could have created conditions so perfectly hospitable to life. In order to solve this mystery, Hawking studied the big bang origin of the universe, but his early work ran into a crisis when the math predicted many big bangs producing a multiverse—countless different universes, most of which would be far too bizarre to ​harbor life. Holed up in the theoretical physics department at Cambridge, Stephen Hawking and his friend and collaborator Thomas Hertog worked on this problem for twenty years, developing a new theory of the cosmos that could account for the emergence of life. Peering into the extreme quantum physics of cosmic holograms and venturing far back in time to our deepest roots, they were startled to find a deeper level of evolution in which the physical laws themselves transform and simplify until particles, forces, and even time itself fades away. This discovery led them to a revolutionary idea: The laws of physics are not set in stone but are born and co-evolve as the universe they govern takes shape. As Hawking’s final days drew near, the two collaborators published their theory, which proposed a radical new Darwinian perspective on the origins of our universe. On the Origin of Time offers a striking new vision of the universe’s birth that will profoundly transform the way we think about our place in the order of the cosmos and may ultimately prove to be Hawking’s greatest legacy.

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The Body - Bill Bryson Cover Art

The Body

The Body A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER •  A must-read owner’s manual for every body. Take a head-to-toe tour of the marvel that is the human body in this “delightful, anecdote-propelled read” ( The Boston Globe ) from the author of A Short History of Nearly Everything . With a new Afterword. “You will marvel at the brilliance and vast weirdness of your design." — The Washington Post   Bill Bryson once again proves himself to be an incomparable companion as he guides us through the human body—how it functions, its remarkable ability to heal itself, and (unfortunately) the ways it can fail. Full of extraordinary facts (your body made a million red blood cells since you started reading this) and irresistible Brysonesque anecdotes, The Body will lead you to a deeper understanding of the miracle that is life in general and you in particular. As Bill Bryson writes, “We pass our existence within this wobble of flesh and yet take it almost entirely for granted.” The Body will cure that indifference with generous doses of wondrous, compulsively readable facts and information. As addictive as it is comprehensive, this is Bryson at his very best.

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I Contain Multitudes - Ed Yong Cover Art

I Contain Multitudes

I Contain Multitudes The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong

New York Times Bestseller New York Times Notable Book of 2016 • NPR Great Read of 2016 • Named a Best Book of 2016 by The Economist, Smithsonian, NPR's Science Friday, MPR, Minnesota Star Tribune , Kirkus Reviews , Publishers Weekly , The Guardian , Times (London) From Pulitzer Prize winner Ed Yong, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin—a “microbe’s-eye view” of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on earth. Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. In this work of popular science, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ed Yong, whose humor is as evident as his erudition, prompts us to look at ourselves and our animal companions in a new light—less as individuals and more as the interconnected, interdependent multitudes we assuredly are. The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts depend on these bacteria for all their energy. Bacteria provide squid with invisibility cloaks, help beetles to bring down forests, and allow worms to cause diseases that afflict millions of people. Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—build our bodies, protect our gut health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners, and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery. This exploration of natural history will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it. In this captivating book, Yong takes us on a grand tour of our microbial partners, revealing a new dimension of the natural world and introducing readers to: A Revolution in Biology: Discover the microbiome—the trillions of microorganisms that live on and inside you—and learn how this groundbreaking area of science is radically reconceiving the story of life on earth. The Animal Kingdom’s Hidden Alliances: Journey from the deep oceans to the treetops to see how bacteria provide squid with invisibility cloaks, help beetles bring down forests, and allow mysterious creatures to survive without mouths or guts. A New Look at Health: Understand how the bacteria in our bodies build our organs, educate our immune systems, protect our health, and shape our very identities in this cornerstone of popular science writing. Accessible and Entertaining Science: Explore complex concepts through the witty, erudite, and endlessly curious lens of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ed Yong, who makes the invisible world of microbes wonderfully visible.

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The Stranger in the Woods - Michael Finkel Cover Art

The Stranger in the Woods

The Stranger in the Woods The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The remarkable true story of a man who lived alone in the woods of Maine for 27 years, making this dream a reality—not out of anger at the world, but simply because he preferred to live on his own. “A meditation on solitude, wildness and survival.” — The Wall Street Journal In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothing, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of his secluded life—why did he leave? what did he learn?—as well as the challenges he has faced since returning to the world. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.

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Death by Black Hole - Neil de Grasse Tyson Cover Art

Death by Black Hole

Death by Black Hole And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil de Grasse Tyson

"[Tyson] tackles a great range of subjects…with great humor, humility, and—most important—humanity." —Entertainment Weekly Loyal readers of the monthly "Universe" essays in Natural History magazine have long recognized Neil deGrasse Tyson's talent for guiding them through the mysteries of the cosmos with clarity and enthusiasm. Bringing together more than forty of Tyson's favorite essays, Death by Black Hole explores a myriad of cosmic topics, from what it would be like to be inside a black hole to the movie industry's feeble efforts to get its night skies right. One of America's best-known astrophysicists, Tyson is a natural teacher who simplifies the complexities of astrophysics while sharing his infectious fascination for our universe.

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Everything Is Predictable - Tom Chivers Cover Art

Everything Is Predictable

Everything Is Predictable How Bayesian Statistics Explain Our World by Tom Chivers

A “fascinating, witty, and perspective-shifting” (Oliver Burkeman, New York Times bestselling author) tour of Bayes’s theorem and its global impact on modern life from the acclaimed science writer and author of The Rationalist’s Guide to the Galaxy . At its simplest, Bayes’s theorem describes the probability of an event, based on prior knowledge of conditions that might be related to the event. But in Everything Is Predictable, Tom Chivers lays out how it affects every aspect of our lives. He explains why highly accurate screening tests can lead to false positives and how a failure to account for it in court has put innocent people in jail. A cornerstone of rational thought, many argue that Bayes’s theorem is a description of almost everything. But who was the man who lent his name to this theorem? How did an 18th-century Presbyterian minister and amateur mathematician uncover a theorem that would affect fields as diverse as medicine, law, and artificial intelligence? “Witty, lively, and best of all, extremely nerdy” (Tim Harford, author of The Undercover Economist ), Everything Is Predictable is an entertaining and accessible illustration of how a single compelling idea can have far reaching consequences.

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A Brief History of Intelligence - Max S. Bennett Cover Art

A Brief History of Intelligence

A Brief History of Intelligence Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains by Max S. Bennett

“I found this book amazing. I read it through quickly because it was so interesting, then turned around and read much of it again.”—Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics and bestselling author of Thinking Fast & Slow “I've been recommending A Brief History of Intelligence to everyone I know. A truly novel, beautifully crafted thesis on what intelligence is and how it has developed since the dawn of life itself."—Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit Equal parts Sapiens, Behave, and Superintelligence, but wholly original in scope, A Brief History of Intelligence offers a paradigm shift for how we understand neuroscience and AI. Artificial intelligence entrepreneur Max Bennett chronicles the five “breakthroughs” in the evolution of human intelligence and reveals what brains of the past can tell us about the AI of tomorrow.  In the last decade, capabilities of artificial intelligence that had long been the realm of science fiction have, for the first time, become our reality. AI is now able to produce original art, identify tumors in pictures, and even steer our cars. And yet, large gaps remain in what modern AI systems can achieve—indeed, human brains still easily perform intellectual feats that we can’t replicate in AI systems. How is it possible that AI can beat a grandmaster at chess but can’t effectively load a dishwasher? As AI entrepreneur Max Bennett compellingly argues, finding the answer requires diving into the billion-year history of how the human brain evolved; a history filled with countless half-starts, calamities, and clever innovations. Not only do our brains have a story to tell—the future of AI may depend on it. Now, in A Brief History of Intelligence, Bennett bridges the gap between neuroscience and AI to tell the brain’s evolutionary story, revealing how understanding that story can help shape the next generation of AI breakthroughs. Deploying a fresh perspective and working with the support of many top minds in neuroscience, Bennett consolidates this immense history into an approachable new framework, identifying the “Five Breakthroughs” that mark the brain’s most important evolutionary leaps forward. Each breakthrough brings new insight into the biggest mysteries of human intelligence. Containing fascinating corollaries to developments in AI, A Brief History of Intelligence shows where current AI systems have matched or surpassed our brains, as well as where AI systems still fall short. Simply put, until AI systems successfully replicate each part of our brain’s long journey, AI systems will fail to exhibit human-like intelligence. Endorsed and lauded by many of the top neuroscientists in the field today, Bennett’s work synthesizes the most relevant scientific knowledge and cutting-edge research into an easy-to-understand and riveting evolutionary story. With sweeping scope and stunning insights, A Brief History of Intelligence proves that understanding the arc of our brain’s history can unlock the tools for successfully navigating our technological future. 

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The God Effect - Brian Clegg Cover Art

The God Effect

The God Effect Quantum Entanglement, Science's Strangest Phenomenon by Brian Clegg

"A marvelously clear and engaging account of . . . the deepest mysteries of the quantum world and [converting] them into a useful technology." —Gregory Chaitin, author of Meta Math! The Quest for Omega What is entanglement? It's a connection between quantum particles, the building blocks of the universe. Once two particles are entangled, a change to one of them is reflected—instantly—in the other, be they in the same lab or light-years apart. So counterintuitive is this phenomenon and its implications that Einstein himself called it "spooky" and thought that it would lead to the downfall of quantum theory. Yet scientists have since discovered that quantum entanglement, the "God Effect," was one of Einstein's few mistakes. What does it mean? The possibilities offered by a fuller understanding of the nature of entanglement read like something out of science fiction: communications devices that could span the stars, codes that cannot be broken, computers that dwarf today's machines in speed and power, teleportation, and more. In The God Effect , veteran science writer Brian Clegg has written an exceptionally readable (and equation-free) account of entanglement, its history, and its application. Those interested in the marvelous possibilities coming down the quantum road will find much to marvel, illuminate, and delight. "Clegg does an excellent job of explaining this complex situation in nontechnical terms . . . implications for future technological advances are huge, and Clegg is at his finest as he embeds potential advances in a broad historical context." — Publishers Weekly "Well organized and succinct. . . . will fascinate [students]." — School Library Journal "Delightful. . . . The author does a superb job of presenting the story of a remarkable concept . . . in a relaxed and entertaining style." —Professor Artur Ekert, Leigh Trapnell Professor of Quantum Physics, Cambridge University

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The Beginner's Guide to Engineering: Mechanical Engineering - Mark Huber Cover Art

The Beginner's Guide to Engineering: Mechanical Engineering

The Beginner's Guide to Engineering: Mechanical Engineering by Mark Huber

The Beginner’s Guide to Engineering series is designed to provide a very simple, non-technical introduction to the fields of engineering for people with no experience in the fields. Each book in the series focuses on introducing the reader to the various concepts in the fields of engineering conceptually rather than mathematically. These books are a great resource for high school students that are considering majoring in one of the engineering fields, or for anyone else that is curious about engineering but has no background in the field. Books in the series: 1. The Beginner’s Guide to Engineering: Chemical Engineering 2. The Beginner’s Guide to Engineering: Computer Engineering 3. The Beginner’s Guide to Engineering: Electrical Engineering 4. The Beginner’s Guide to Engineering: Mechanical Engineering

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Opportunity, Montana - Brad Tyer Cover Art

Opportunity, Montana

Opportunity, Montana Big Copper, Bad Water, and the Burial of an American Landscape by Brad Tyer

A memoir-meets-exposé that examines our fraught relationship with the West and our attempts to clean up a toxic environmental legacy     In 2002, Texas journalist Brad Tyer strapped a canoe on his truck and moved to Montana, a state that has long exerted a mythic pull on America’s imagination as an unspoiled landscape. The son of an engineer who reclaimed wastewater, Tyer was looking for a pristine river to call his own. What he found instead was a century’s worth of industrial poison clotting the Clark Fork River, a decades-long engineering project to clean it up, and a forgotten town named Opportunity.   At the turn of the nineteenth century, Montana exploited the richest copper deposits in the world, fueling the electric growth of twentieth-century America and building some of the nation’s most outlandish fortunes. The toxic by-product of those fortunes—what didn’t spill into the river—was dumped in Opportunity.   In the twenty-first century, Montana’s draw is no longer metal but landscape: the blue-ribbon trout streams and unspoiled wilderness of the nation’s “last best place.” To match reality to the myth, affluent exurbanites and well-meaning environmentalists are trying to restore the Clark Fork River to its “natural state.” In the process, millions of tons of toxic soils are being removed and dumped—once again—in Opportunity. As Tyer investigates Opportunity’s history, he wrestles with questions of environmental justice and the ethics of burdening one community with an entire region’s waste.   Stalled at the intersection of a fading extractive economy and a fledgling restoration boom, Opportunity’s story is a secret history of the American Dream and a key to understanding the country’s—and increasingly the globe’s—demand for modern convenience.   As Tyer explores the degradations of the landscape, he also probes the parallel emotional geography of familial estrangement. Part personal history and part reportorial narrative,  Opportunity, Montana  is a story of progress and its price: of copper and water, of father and son, and of our attempts to redeem the mistakes of the past.

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The God Equation - Michio Kaku Cover Art

The God Equation

The God Equation The Quest for a Theory of Everything by Michio Kaku

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic story of the greatest quest in all of science—the holy grail of physics that would explain the creation of the universe—from renowned theoretical physicist and author of The Future of the Mind and The Future of Humanity. When Newton discovered the law of gravity, he unified the rules governing the heavens and the Earth. Since then, physicists have been placing new forces into ever-grander theories.   But perhaps the ultimate challenge is achieving a monumental synthesis of the two remaining theories—relativity and the quantum theory. This would be the crowning achievement of science, a profound merging of all the forces of nature into one beautiful, magnificent equation to unlock the deepest mysteries in science: What happened before the Big Bang? What lies on the other side of a black hole? Are there other universes and dimensions? Is time travel possible? Why are we here?   Kaku also explains the intense controversy swirling around this theory, with Nobel laureates taking opposite sides on this vital question. It is a captivating, gripping story; what’s at stake is nothing less than our conception of the universe.   Written with Kaku’s trademark enthusiasm and clarity, this epic and engaging journey is the story of The God Equation .

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Open Space - David Ariosto Cover Art

Open Space

Open Space From Earth to Eternity--the Global Race to Explore and Conquer the Cosmos by David Ariosto

The next space race has arrived—driven by rival nations, billionaire-funded ventures, and breakthrough technologies all vying to alter the balance of power on Earth and beyond. "This isn’t science fiction; it’s the blueprint for the world we’re about to inherit.” —Ali Velshi, NBC News senior economic and business correspondent and anchor for MS NOW In 2024, the Odysseus lander touched down near the south pole of the Moon. It was the first lunar landing by Americans in more than half a century—and the first ever by a private company. “Odie” embodied the ambitions of a new genera­tion of space entrepreneurs, as well as Washington’s bid to challenge a rising Beijing. A gateway to interplanetary explo­ration and conquest, the Moon is now also open for busi­ness, and the race to level up technology, secure resources, and build off-world infrastructure has begun. First place isn’t just a symbolic win, but a strategic path to influence and control. The United States, although turbo­charged by tech elites, risks being outpaced by China, which increasingly aligns commercial enterprise with national secu­rity. Not far behind are Russia, India, Japan, and the Euro­pean Union. In Open Space, journalist and space industry analyst David Ariosto gives us a front-row seat to the future. With unprecedented access, he recounts the split-second deci­sions in mission control and hold-your-breath moments on the launch pad. He travels from research labs orchestrating our planetary defense to an antimatter factory and the Mars Desert Research Station, where scientists imagine how an off-world colony might survive (it involves a diet of bugs). He probes inside the Chinese space sector itself, meeting with key figures and companies and traveling to a remote military station in South America. In this global odyssey, we meet the visionaries who are dreaming up the future and the engineers and physicists who are making science fiction a reality. After millennia of gazing up at the stars, humanity is now forging the tools to travel among them. Propulsive, awe-inspiring, and poignant, Open Space charts this epic journey to the final frontier and looks for our place within it.

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Behave - Robert M. Sapolsky Cover Art

Behave

Behave The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky

New York Times bestseller • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • One of the Washington Post 's 10 Best Books of the Year “It’s no exaggeration to say that Behave is one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read.” —David P. Barash, The Wall Street Journal "It has my vote for science book of the year.” —Parul Sehgal, The New York Times "Immensely readable, often hilarious...Hands-down one of the best books I’ve read in years. I loved it." —Dina Temple-Raston, The Washington Post From the bestselling author of A Primate's Memoir and Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will comes a landmark, genre-defining examination of human behavior and an answer to the question: Why do we do the things we do? Behave is one of the most dazzling tours d’horizon of the science of human behavior ever attempted. Moving across a range of disciplines, Sapolsky—a neuroscientist and primatologist—uncovers the hidden story of our actions. Undertaking some of our thorniest questions relating to tribalism and xenophobia, hierarchy and competition, and war and peace, Behave is a towering achievement—a majestic synthesis of cutting-edge research and a heroic exploration of why we ultimately do the things we do . . . for good and for ill.

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God, the Science, the Evidence - Michel-Yves Bolloré & Olivier Bonnassies Cover Art

God, the Science, the Evidence

God, the Science, the Evidence by Michel-Yves Bolloré & Olivier Bonnassies

Books of the Year- The Sunday Times   Books We Enjoyed in 2025 - The Gospel Coalition   After four years of research in partnership with over twenty scientists and esteemed experts, this book explores one of the most significant questions we face: the existence or non-existence of a creator God. For more than four centuries, the scientific discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin, and Freud created the impression that we could explain the workings of the Universe without the idea of a creator--God. By the beginning of the twentieth century, materialism had become the dominant theory of the time. And yet, with unexpected and astonishing force, the pendulum of science has swung back in the other direction, owing to a rapid succession of discoveries: the theory of relativity; quantum mechanics; the Big Bang; the theories of expansion, heat death, and fine-tuning of the universe. This newly acquired knowledge has upended the certainties of the twentieth century collective consciousness. Once the only acceptable theory, materialism is increasingly considered an irrational belief. The authors of this highly readable book retrace the fascinating history of these scientific breakthroughs and offer a rigorous overview of the new proof of the existence of God. God: the Science and the Evidence is an invitation to reflect and debate the place of God in science.

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Peterson Field Guide To Birds Of North America, Second Edition - Roger Tory Peterson Cover Art

Peterson Field Guide To Birds Of North America, Second Edition

Peterson Field Guide To Birds Of North America, Second Edition by Roger Tory Peterson

A new edition of the best-selling field guide with 25 all-new plates covering the birds of Hawaii. For decades, the Peterson Field Guide to Birds has been a popular and trusted bird watching guide for birders of all levels, thanks to its famous system of identification and unparalleled illustrations. Now that the American Birding Association has expanded its species Checklist to include Hawaii, the Peterson Guide is the first edition to include the wonderful and exotic Hawaiian birds. In addition, the text and updated range maps have been revised, and much of the art has been touched up to reflect current knowledge for easy bird identification. This comprehensive second edition gives you everything you need for successful birding in North America: The Peterson Identification System: Put the famous method to work, simplifying bird identification by grouping similar species and highlighting key differences on the page. Complete North American Coverage: Explore from coast to coast with fully updated range maps and text reflecting the latest ornithological knowledge. Exclusive Hawaiian Birds Section: Discover the wonderful and exotic species of our fiftieth state, featuring 25 beautiful, all-new plates not found in previous editions. For All Skill Levels: Whether you’re a beginner or an expert birder, this guide has been a trusted companion in the field for decades.

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I Told You So! - Matt Kaplan Cover Art

I Told You So!

I Told You So! Scientists Who Were Ridiculed, Exiled, and Imprisoned for Being Right by Matt Kaplan

An energetic and impassioned work of popular science about scientists who have had to fight for their revolutionary ideas to be accepted—from Darwin to Pasteur to modern day Nobel Prize winners. For two decades, Matt Kaplan has covered science for the Economist . He’s seen breakthroughs often occur in spite of, rather than because of, the behavior of the research community, and how support can be withheld for those who don’t conform or have the right connections. In this passionately argued and entertaining book, Kaplan narrates the history of the 19th century Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, who realized that Childbed fever—a devastating infection that only struck women who had recently given birth—was spread by doctors not washing their hands. Semmelweis was met with overwhelming hostility by those offended at the notion that doctors were at fault, and is a prime example of how the scientific community often fights new ideas, even when the facts are staring them in the face. In entertaining prose, Kaplan reveals scientific cases past and present to make his case. Some are familiar, like Galileo being threatened with torture and Nobel laureate Katalin Karikó being fired when on the brink of discovering how to wield mRNA–a finding that proved pivotal for the creation of the Covid-19 vaccine. Others less so, like researchers silenced for raising safety concerns about new drugs, and biologists ridiculed for revealing major flaws in the way rodent research is conducted. Kaplan shows how the scientific community can work faster and better by making reasonably small changes to the forces that shape it.

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An Elegant Defense - Matt Richtel Cover Art

An Elegant Defense

An Elegant Defense The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives by Matt Richtel

National Bestseller "Gives you all the context you need to understand the science of immunity. ... An Elegant Defense left me with [a] sense of awe.” —Bill Gates, Gates Notes Summer Reading List The Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist "explicates for the lay reader the intricate biology of our immune system" (Jerome Groopman, MD, New York Review of Books ) From New York Times science journalist Matt Richtel, An Elegant Defense is an acclaimed and definitive exploration of the human body’s immune system and the secrets of health and wellness. Interweaving cutting-edge science with the intimate stories of four individual patients, this epic, first-of-its-kind narrative nonfiction book “give[s] lay readers a means of understanding what’s known so far about the intricate biology of our immune systems” ( The Week ). The immune system is our body’s essential defense network, a guardian vigilantly fighting illness, healing wounds, maintaining order and balance, and keeping us alive. It has been honed by evolution over millennia to face an almost infinite array of threats. For all its astonishing complexity, however, the immune system can be easily compromised by fatigue, stress, toxins, advanced age, and poor nutrition—hallmarks of modern life—and even by excessive hygiene. Paradoxically, it is a fragile wonder weapon that can turn on our own bodies with startling results, leading today to epidemic levels of autoimmune disorders. An Elegant Defense effortlessly guides readers through compelling medical history on a scientific detective tale winding from the Black Plague to twentieth-century breakthroughs in vaccination and antibiotics, to today’s laboratories that are revolutionizing immunology—perhaps the most extraordinary and consequential medical story of our time. Drawing on extensive new interviews with dozens of world-renowned scientists, Richtel has produced a landmark book, equally an investigation into the deepest riddles of survival and a profoundly human tale that is movingly brought to life through the eyes of his four main characters, each of whom illuminates an essential facet of our “elegant defense.” But how does this elegant defense work, and what happens when it goes wrong? Landmark Medical Science: Journey from the Black Plague to modern laboratories, uncovering the hard-won scientific discoveries that cracked the code of our body’s most elegant defense. The Autoimmune Epidemic: An unflinching look at what happens when the system turns on itself, leading to conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus that affect millions. A New Era in Cancer Treatment: Go inside the breakthrough science of immunotherapy, which unleashes the body’s own defenses to fight back against cancer. Health, Stress, and Sleep: Discover the critical links between modern life—including stress, poor nutrition, and sleep—and the delicate balance required for optimal wellness.

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Amusing Ourselves to Death - Neil Postman Cover Art

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Amusing Ourselves to Death Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman

Television has conditioned us to tolerate visually entertaining material measured out in spoonfuls of time, to the detriment of rational public discourse and reasoned public affairs. In this eloquent, persuasive book, Neil Postman alerts us to the real and present dangers of this state of affairs, and offers compelling suggestions as to how to withstand the media onslaught. Before we hand over politics, education, religion, and journalism to the show business demands of the television age, we must recognize the ways in which the media shape our lives and the ways we can, in turn, shape them to serve out highest goals.

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Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies - Mark Zegarelli Cover Art

Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies

Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies by Mark Zegarelli

Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies, 2nd Edition (9781119293637) was previously published as Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies, 2nd Edition (9781118791981). While this version features a new Dummies cover and design, the content is the same as the prior release and should not be considered a new or updated product. Tips for simplifying tricky basic math and pre-algebra operations Whether you're a student preparing to take algebra or a parent who wants or needs to brush up on basic math, this fun, friendly guide has the tools you need to get in gear. From positive, negative, and whole numbers to fractions, decimals, and percents, you'll build necessary math skills to tackle more advanced topics, such as imaginary numbers, variables, and algebraic equations. Explanations and practical examples that mirror today's teaching methods Relevant cultural vernacular and references Standard For Dummies materials that match the current standard and design Basic Math & Pre-Algebra For Dummies takes the intimidation out of tricky operations and helps you get ready for algebra!

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Determined - Robert M. Sapolsky Cover Art

Determined

Determined A Science of Life without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky

The instant New York Times bestseller “Excellent . . . Outstanding for its breadth of research, the liveliness of the writing, and the depth of humanity it conveys.” – Wall Street Journal One of our great behavioral scientists, the bestselling author of Behave , mounts a devastating scientific and philosophical case against free will—an argument with profound consequences Robert Sapolsky’s Behave , his now classic account of why humans do good and why they do bad, pointed toward an unsettling conclusion: we may not grasp exactly how nature and nurture create the physics and chemistry that cause all human behavior, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. In Determined , Sapolsky takes his argument all the way, mounting a brilliant (and in his inimitable way, delightful) full-frontal assault on the pleasant fantasy that there is some separate self who tells our biology what to do. Determined offers a marvelous synthesis of what we know about consciousness—the tight weave between reason and emotion and between stimulus and response in the moment and over a life. One by one, Sapolsky takes out all the major arguments for free will, cutting a path through the thickets of chaos theory and quantum physics. But as Sapolsky acknowledges, it’s sometimes impossible to uncouple from our zeal to judge people, including ourselves. Determined applies this new understanding to some of our most essential questions around punishment, morality, and living well together. Most of all, Sapolsky argues that while accepting the reality about free will is monumentally difficult, it will make for a much more humane world.

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Until the End of Time - Brian Greene Cover Art

Until the End of Time

Until the End of Time Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe by Brian Greene

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A captivating exploration of deep time and humanity's search for purpose, f rom the world-renowned physicist and best-selling author of The Elegant Universe. "Few humans share Greene’s mastery of both the latest cosmological science and English prose." — The New York Times Until the End of Time is Brian Greene's breathtaking new exploration of the cosmos and our quest to find meaning in the face of this vast expanse. Greene takes us on a journey from the big bang to the end of time, exploring how lasting structures formed, how life and mind emerged, and how we grapple with our existence through narrative, myth, religion, creative expression, science, the quest for truth, and a deep longing for the eternal. From particles to planets, consciousness to creativity, matter to meaning—Brian Greene allows us all to grasp and appreciate our fleeting but utterly exquisite moment in the cosmos.

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Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs - Scott W. Hotaling Cover Art

Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs

Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs by Scott W. Hotaling

Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs is a comprehensive encyclopedia of all genera that have ever been included in the superorder Dinosauria, excluding class Aves (birds, both living and those known only from fossils) and purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful (nomen dubium), or were not formally published (nomen nudum), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered dinosaurs. Many listed dinosaurs have since been reclassified as everything from birds to crocodilians to petrified wood. This encyclopedia Includes 1300+ Items including corresponding images and write ups which include Description, Location, History, videos and Stories behind the find and Much More. 

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Is a River Alive? - Robert Macfarlane Cover Art

Is a River Alive?

Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane

A New York Times Bestseller A #1 Sunday Times (UK) Bestseller Finalist for the 2025 Banff Mountain Book Competition in Environmental Literature Longlisted for the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction Named a Best Book of 2025 by The New Yorker, Economist, Guardian, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly • One of TIME's 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 • One of NPR's "Books We Love" for 2025 • One of Smithsonian Magazine's Ten Best Science Books of 2025 • A Chicago Public Library Top 10 Favorite Book of 2025 • A Washington Post Notable Work of Nonfiction for 2025 From the best-selling author of Underland and "the great nature writer…of this generation" (Wall Street Journal), a revelatory book that transforms how we imagine rivers—and life itself. Hailed in the New York Times as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler,” Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law. Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada—imperiled respectively by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane’s house, a stream who flows through his own years and days. Powered by dazzling prose and lit throughout by other minds and voices, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, challenge perspectives, and remind us that our fate flows with that of rivers—and always has.

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The Growth Story of the 21st Century - Nicholas Stern Cover Art

The Growth Story of the 21st Century

The Growth Story of the 21st Century The Economics and Opportunity of Climate Action by Nicholas Stern

The world stands at a crossroads. The next decade will determine whether we avoid climate, biodiversity, and economic catastrophe - or unlock a new era of sustainable, resilient, and inclusive growth. The Growth Story of the 21st Century challenges the outdated idea that we must choose between climate action and development. Instead, it presents a compelling case for a transformation that delivers both prosperity and a healthier planet. Drawing on economics, finance, policy, politics, and behavioural science, Nicholas Stern explores why this transformation is essential, what it entails, and how we can achieve it. He revisits the insights of the Stern Review two decades on and sets out a new research agenda for economics and the social sciences. This is a story of optimism - about how rapid technological advances, including digitisation and AI, can drive change at scale. But it does not shy away from the immense challenges ahead. With clear and practical strategies for national and international action, this book is a call to leaders, businesses, and individuals alike: the future is in our hands, and delay is the riskiest option of all.

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The Perfect Storm - Sebastian Junger Cover Art

The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger

"There is nothing imaginary about Junger's book; it is all terrifyingly, awesomely real." —Los Angeles Times It was the storm of the century, boasting waves over one hundred feet high—a tempest created by so rare a combination of factors that meteorologists deemed it "the perfect storm." In a book that has become a classic, Sebastian Junger explores the history of the fishing industry, the science of storms, and the candid accounts of the people whose lives the storm touched. The Perfect Storm is a real-life thriller that makes us feel like we've been caught, helpless, in the grip of a force of nature beyond our understanding or control. Winner of the American Library Association's 1998 Alex Award.

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Metazoa - Peter Godfrey-Smith Cover Art

Metazoa

Metazoa Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind by Peter Godfrey-Smith

"Enthralling . . . breathtaking . . . Metazoa brings an extraordinary and astute look at our own mind’s essential link to the animal world." — The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) "A great book . . . [Godfrey-Smith is] brilliant at describing just what he sees, the patterns of behaviour of the animals he observes." —Nigel Warburton, Five Books The scuba-diving philosopher who wrote Other Minds explores the origins of animal consciousness Dip below the ocean’s surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom—the Metazoa—they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed 2016 book, Other Minds , the philosopher and scuba diver Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus—the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa , Godfrey-Smith expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of subjective experience with the assistance of far-flung species. As he delves into what it feels like to perceive and interact with the world as other life-forms do, Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the animal body well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. In accessible, riveting prose, he charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments—eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment—shaped the subjective lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus, and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds, and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers their stories together in a way that bridges the gap between mind and matter, addressing one of the most vexing philosophical problems: that of consciousness. Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophical reflections and the latest news from biology, Metazoa reveals that even in our high-tech, AI-driven times, there is no understanding our minds without understanding nerves, muscles, and active bodies. The story that results is as rich and vibrant as life itself.

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What If We Get It Right? - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson Cover Art

What If We Get It Right?

What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “With a thoughtfully curated series of essays, poetry, and conversations, the brilliant scientist and climate expert Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has assembled a group of dynamic people who are willing to imagine what seems impossible, and articulate those visions with enthusiastic clarity.”—Roxane Gay Our climate future is not yet written. What if we act as if we love the future? A SMITHSONIAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures. Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create. If you haven’t yet been able to picture a transformed and replenished world—or to see yourself, your loved ones, and your community in it—this book is for you. If you haven’t yet found your role in shaping this new world or you’re not sure how we can actually get there, this book is for you. With grace, humor, and humanity, Johnson invites readers to ask and answer this ultimate question together: What if we get it right? On possibility and transformation with: Paola Antonelli • Xiye Bastida • Jade Begay • Wendell Berry • Régine Clément • Steve Connell • Erica Deeman • Abigail Dillen • Brian Donahue • Jean Flemma • Kelly Sims Gallagher • Rhiana Gunn-Wright • Olalekan Jeyifous • Corley Kenna • Bryan C. Lee Jr. • Franklin Leonard • Adam McKay • Bill McKibben • Kate Marvel • Samantha Montano • Kate Orff • Leah Penniman • Marge Piercy • Colette Pichon Battle • Kendra Pierre-Louis • Judith D. Schwartz • Jigar Shah • Ayisha Siddiqa • Bren Smith • Oana Stănescu • Mustafa Suleyman • Jacqueline Woodson

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The Fabric of the Cosmos - Brian Greene Cover Art

The Fabric of the Cosmos

The Fabric of the Cosmos Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s leading physicists and author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Elegant Universe, comes “an astonishing ride” through the universe ( The New York Times ) that makes us look at reality in a completely different way. Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past? Greene has set himself a daunting task: to explain non-intuitive, mathematical concepts like String Theory, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and Inflationary Cosmology with analogies drawn from common experience. From Newton’s unchanging realm in which space and time are absolute, to Einstein’s fluid conception of spacetime, to quantum mechanics’ entangled arena where vastly distant objects can instantaneously coordinate their behavior, Greene takes us all, regardless of our scientific backgrounds, on an irresistible and revelatory journey to the new layers of reality that modern physics has discovered lying just beneath the surface of our everyday world.

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