Science

The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest: the search for the solution of how to calculate longitude and the unlikely triumph of an English genius. With a Foreword by Neil Armstrong.'Sobel has done the impossible and made horology sexy - no mean feat' New ScientistAnyone alive in the 18th century would have known that 'the longitude problem' was the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day - and had been for centuries. Lacking the ability to measure their longitude, sailors throughout the great ages of exploration had been literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Thousands of lives, and the increasing fortunes of nations, hung on a resolution.The quest for a solution had occupied scientists and their patrons for the better part of two centuries when, in 1714, Parliament upped the ante by offering a king's ransom (GBP20,000) to anyone whose method or device proved successful. Countless quacks weighed in with preposterous suggestions. The scientific establishment throughout Europe - from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton - had mapped the heavens in both hemispheres in its certain pursuit of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution.Full of heroism and chicanery, brilliance and the absurd, LONGITUDE is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation and clockmaking.Note that it has not been possible to include the same picture content that appeared in the original print version.

A guide to Ubuntu - the South African philosophy that emphasises the common humanity and interconnectedness of all people.

~ NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ~ From the creator of Hamilton: The Musical and star of His Dark Materials, this beautifully illustrated book of pep talks will inspire you at the beginning and end of each day.

Tells the story of the search for a rocket propellant which could be trusted to take man into space. Acclaimed scientist and sci-fi author John D. Clark writes with irreverent and eyewitness immediacy about the development of the explosive fuels strong enough to negate the relentless restraints of gravity.

The application of the fundamentals of science, technology and engineering to real-life everyday situations is explored in this visual and accessible guide, addressing such phenomena as hot-air balloons, light waves and the human eye.

A game-changing book on the origins of life, called the most important scientific discovery 'since the Copernican revolution' in The Observer.

The New American Ephemeris for the 21st Century 2000-2100 at Midnight, Michelsen Memorial Edition Compiled and Programmed by Rique Pottenger, based on the earlier work of Neil F Michelsen Memorial text and Introduction compiled and written by Maria Kay Simms In 1976, Neil F Michelsen (1931-1990) compiled, programmed and published the first edition of The American Ephemeris that set new standards of accuracy for contemporary astrology. In 2006, celebrating the 30th anniversary of first publication of the first volume of work that grew to become Michelsen's comprehensive American Ephemeris series, Rique Pottenger continued the work that Neil began. Within The New American Ephemeris for the 21st Century 2000-2100 at Midnight is the familiar data and format long used and trusted by astrologers worldwide, now updated and expanded, with new features. This ephemeris is unique among others in the series for its memorial text section that documents, partially from excerpts from Michelsen's own writing, and partially from testimonials of colleagues, a history of the development of computer technology for astrology. Features of this entire 21st century edition include improvements in the computer generating program that enable finding double ingresses in a single day plus more accurate station times. Ceres, the asteroid that was elevated to planetary status by the IAU (International Astronomical Union) in 2006, has been added to the daily longitude listings in her position between Mars and Jupiter. The new planet Eris, whose discovery precipitated the IAU decisions of 2006, moves, at most, about 3 minutes per month, so her position is listed once per month in the Astro Data box, along with monthly positions for Chiron, Pallas, Juno and Vesta. A new formula increases the accuracy of monthly positions of the Galactic Center. Phenomena listed in the Astro Data column are sorted by time as well as by date. Also, the planetary ingress data includes R if the planet is retrograde when it ingresses.

A unique selection of the greatest thinkers from the fields of philosophy, political theory, sociology, art, architecture and literature, with enjoyable profiles of what they have to teach to us today.

Features 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', 'The Task of the Translator' and 'Theses on the Philosophy of History', as well as essays on Kafka, storytelling, Baudelaire, Brecht's epic theatre, and Proust.

A long-awaited compilation of exercises to accompany the Feynman Lectures on Physics

This deeply personal yet intellectually groundbreaking work develops the idea of companion species and deftly explores philosophical, cultural, and biological aspects of animal-human encounters.

Discover Wollstonecraft's classic feminist text in an abridged, digestible form. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ZOE WILLIAMS The term feminism did not yet exist when Mary Wollstonecraft wrote this book, but it was the first great piece of feminist writing.

Eagerly awaited by scientists and academics worldwide, the complete series of Feynmans landmark Lectures on Physics

Written three years before his death, this presents Jung at his very best and reveals much about his sympathy towards religion and spirituality.

With simple prose and straightforward logic, this book offers lessons for managers and business leaders. It is suitable reading for anyone in the realm of business or politics.

This is the ideal companion text for mathematicians and physical scientists using mathematical software packages such as Maple. It provides a user-friendly introduction to computer-assisted algebra and demonstrates the use of this technology for deriving approximate solutions to integrals and differential equations. Over 1000 exercises are incorporated with Internet solutions.

Initially published in 1969, and one of Fuller's most popular works, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth is a brilliant synthesis of his world view. In this very accessible volume, Fuller investigates the great challenges facing humanity, and the principles for avoiding extinction and "exercising our option to make it."

We often stay stuck with the level of confidence we have because we implicitly regard being confident as a matter of slightly freakish and unrepeatable good luck. In fact, as this essay charmingly shows, the opposite is true. Confidence is a skill based on a set of ideas about our place in the world - and its secrets can quietly be learnt.

Douglas Hofstadter's critically acclaimed return to the themes of Godel, Escher, Bach--an original and controversial view of the nature of consciousness and identity.

Presents a philosophical reference work. In this edition, an international assembly of 249 philosophers has contributed almost 2,000 entries. It offers discussions of the aspects of philosophy, and of the lives and work of the great philosophers. It is meant as an introduction for general readers and as a guide for students.

Nietzsche regarded 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' as his most important work, and it has had an enormous influence on subsequent culture. This edition offers a new translation, which captures the text's poetic brilliance, together with an introduction which discusses many of the most important interpretative issues raised by the work.

The Ashtavakra Gita conveys with beauty and simplicity the essential teachings of Advaita Vedanta, the most influential of the Hindu philosophical systems. Composed by an anonymous master of the school of the great sage Shankara, it is a book of practical advice for seekers of wisdom as well as an ecstatic expression of the experience of enlightenment. In this simple, aphoristic version, the translator conveys the clarity and lyricism of the Sanskrit original with fluency and precision.

'One of the most important works...of the twentieth century' The TimesShadows of the Mind is a profound exploration of what modern physics has to tell us about the human mind. A visionary description of what a new physics - one that is adequate to account for our extraordinary brain - might look like.

Internationally renowned and bestselling author Donna Farhi moves yoga practice beyond the mat into our everyday lives, restoring the tradition's intended function as a complete, practical philosophy for daily living. Expanding upon the teachings of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the core text of the yoga tradition, Donna Farhi describes yoga's transforming power as a complete life practice, far beyond its common reduction to mere exercise routine or stress management. This is the philosophy of yoga as a path to a deeper awareness of self. Drawing upon her years of teaching with students, Farhi guides readers through all the pitfalls and promises of navigating a spiritual practice. Farhi's engaging and accessible style and broad experience offer important teachings for newcomers and seasoned practitioners of yoga alike. And because her teachings of yoga philosophy extend into every corner of daily life, this book is an equally accessible guide to those seeking spiritual guidance without learning the pretzel bendings of the physical practice itself. As one of the top teachers worldwide, Farhi's exploration of the core philosophy of yoga is destined to become an instant classic.

The body plays a central role in shaping our experience of the world. Why, then, are we so frequently oblivious to our own bodies? We gaze at the world, but rarely see our own eyes. We may be unable to explain how we perform the simplest of acts. We are even less aware of our internal organs and the physiological processes that keep us alive. In this fascinating work, Drew Leder examines all the ways in which the body is "absent"--forgotten, alien, uncontrollable, obscured. In part 1, Leder explores a wide range of bodily functions with an eye to structures of concealment and alienation. He discusses not only perception and movement, skills and tools, but a variety of "bodies" that philosophers tend to overlook: the inner body with its anonymous rhythms; the sleeping body into which we nightly lapse; the prenatal body from which we first came to be. Leder thereby seeks to challenge "primacy of perception." In part 2, Leder shows how this phenomenology allows us to rethink traditional concepts of mind and body. Leder argues that Cartesian dualism exhibits an abiding power because it draws upon life-world experiences. Descartes' corpus is filled with disruptive bodies which can only be subdued by exercising "disembodied" reason. Leder explores the origins of this notion of reason as disembodied, focusing upon the hidden corporeality of language and thought. In a final chapter, Leder then proposes a new ethic of embodiment to carry us beyond Cartesianism. This original, important, and accessible work uses examples from the author's medical training throughout. It will interest all those concerned with phenomenology, the philosophy of mind, or the Cartesian tradition; those workingin the health care professions; and all those fascinated by the human body.

This study concerns the city dweller. Morris finds remarkable similarities with captive zoo animals and looks closely at the aggressive, sexual and parental behaviour of the human species under the stresses and pressures of urban living.