Science

In this full-colour practical guide, Wolfgang Windmann, Ph.D., explores Shilajit’s many physical and mental benefits, from stimulating the immune system and combating inflammation to protection from toxic stress and improving cognitive performance.

A bestselling and award-winning artist presents a fun, illustrated approach to yoga to help you loosen up with a smile on your face! Marion Deuchars has practiced yoga for many years and knows well the benefits it brings. Now she invites you to join her stiff bird in a selection of classic poses, stretches, and breathing exercises that are guaranteed to revive and energize.Yoga for Stiff Birds rejects the clichés of studio photography in favor of a friendlier illustrated look. With a few strokes of her brush, Deuchars helps Bob into every position from downward-facing dog to tree—and you’ll want to follow suit. With 60 poses and sequences (all carefully checked by yoga professionals) presented in a lay-flat binding, the book is both practical and inspiring. The full-color art will raise a smile, whether you’re a regular practitioner or a yoga novice, and will encourage even the creakiest beginner to breathe, stretch, and bend like they never have before. Already a bestseller in the UK and internationally, Yoga for Stiff Birds is a truly unique book: once seen, never forgotten.

"Higher is a mind-blowing visual journey through the legends, legacy, and lore of cannabis. After significant research and conversation within the cannabis community, author Dan Michaels profiles 100 of the most important marijuana strains of yesterday and today with spectacularly detailed, whole-plant portraits by cannabis photographer Erik Christiansen. Whether profiling classic strains like Chem Dog, Hindu Kush, or Maui Wowie or recent luminaries like Wedding Cake, Zkittlez, or Blueberry Muffin, Higher features intel on lineage, taste, THC content, and common effects-as well as a mouth-watering portrait of each strain. A visually rich introductory section details everything you need to know about cannabis today, from a brief history of cannabis, to breeding secrets, to all the ways humans have consumed it throughout the ages. Packed with stories about the misfits, visionaries, hijinks, and happenings that make cannabis so entertaining, Higher offers the eye candy and sound information today's diverse and discerning cannabis enthusiast craves"--

Exploding myths and offering research-backed advice, this book provides a shortcut to decades of gardening experience by explaining the science behind how a garden grows.Why does my cherry tree blossom but never fruit? What's the most effective slug deterrent? Could I breed my own unique variety of flower? The world of gardening can be a mystifying place, with so many instructions to follow and often little explanation as to why.From hands-on advice to an exploration of the mental health benefits of gardening, whilst also looking at sustainable practice and the positive impact gardening can have during a climate crisis, Science of Gardening debunks myths, and reveals the latest science only taught at horticultural college.As a passionate newcomer to gardening, daunted by the mountain of often conflicting advice in gardening manuals, Dr Stu has set about testing the scientific basis of so much conventional wisdom and practice so you too can garden like a pro.

The secret side of airplane travel, straight from the captain Captain Doug Morris has been writing for his airline's in-flight magazine for 24 years and answered a gamut of questions. This sequel to his bestselling book, From the Flight Deck: Plane Talk and Sky Science, explains everything you wanted to know about airline travel, such as: Do airliners have keys? What do aircrew get up to on layovers? Why the bumps? This Is Your Captain Speaking caters to the frequent flyer, the nervous flyer, aviation geeks, travel buffs, relatives to airline types, and that nosy neighbor who wonders what airline pilots do. Doug discusses how to become a pilot and the required training in the simulator, and shares passenger anecdotes about unsung heroes (flight attendants) and mile-high memberships. It's the A to Z of airline travel with a twist of humor. The flight deck door will always be closed, but Doug exposes the unique aviation world to the public. It's a must-read before or during your next flight.

A groundbreaking tour of the human mind that illuminates the biological nature of our inner worlds and emotions, through gripping, moving—and, at times, harrowing—clinical stories“[A] scintillating and moving analysis of the human brain and emotions.”—Nature“Beautifully connects the inner feelings within all human beings to deep insights from modern psychiatry and neuroscience.”—Robert Lefkowitz, Nobel LaureateKarl Deisseroth has spent his life pursuing truths about the human mind, both as a renowned clinical psychiatrist and as a researcher creating and developing the revolutionary field of optogenetics, which uses light to help decipher the brain’s workings. In Projections, he combines his knowledge of the brain’s inner circuitry with a deep empathy for his patients to examine what mental illness reveals about the human mind and the origin of human feelings—how the broken can illuminate the unbroken.Through cutting-edge research and gripping case studies from Deisseroth’s own patients, Projections tells a larger story about the material origins of human emotion, bridging the gap between the ancient circuits of our brain and the poignant moments of suffering in our daily lives. The stories of Deisseroth’s patients are rich with humanity and shine an unprecedented light on the self—and the ways in which it can break down. A young woman with an eating disorder reveals how the mind can rebel against the brain’s most primitive drives of hunger and thirst; an older man, smothered into silence by depression and dementia, shows how humans evolved to feel not only joy but also its absence; and a lonely Uighur woman far from her homeland teaches both the importance—and challenges—of deep social bonds.Illuminating, literary, and essential, Projections is a revelatory, immensely powerful work. It transforms our understanding not only of the brain but of ourselves as social beings—giving vivid illustrations through science and resonant human stories of our yearning for connection and meaning.

"After breaking a "curse" on the imperial heirs, a palace servant with training in herbal medicine is promoted up the ranks to food taster...and right into the thick of palace intrigue in this lushly illustrated historical mystery series!" --provided by publisher.

As a child, Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in clothing but, seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London, she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager. Her father, the influential editor of the Evening Standard, loomed large in her life, and once he decided she should become editor in chief of Vogue, she never looked back.Impatient to start her career, she left high school and got a job at a fashionable boutique in London - an experience that would be the first of many defeats. Undeterred, she found work in the competitive world of magazines, eventually moving to New York. Before long, Anna's journey to Vogue became a battle to ascend, no matter who or what stood in her way. Once she was crowned editor in chief - in one of the stormiest transitions in fashion magazine history - she continued the fight to retain her enviable position, ultimately rising to dominate all of Conde Nast.Based on extensive interviews with Anna Wintour's closest friends and collaborators, including some of the biggest names in fashion, journalist Amy Odell has crafted the most revealing portrait of Wintour ever published. Weaving Anna's personal story into a larger narrative about the hierarchical dynamics of the fashion industry and the complex world of Conde Nast, Anna charts the relentless ambition of the woman who would become an icon.

The Sovereign Individual, penned by the renowned author James Dale Davidson, is a must-read for anyone interested in exploring the concept of personal freedom and sovereignty. Published by Simon + Schuster Inc. in 1999, this book stands as a testament to Davidson's insightful understanding of the socio-economic landscape. The book, belonging to the genre of socio-political literature, delves into the idea of individual sovereignty in the face of the modern world's complexities. It challenges the readers to question the norms and encourages them to take control of their own lives. The Sovereign Individual is a thought-provoking journey that continues to remain relevant even after two decades of its publication. It's a compelling read, brought to you by the esteemed publishers, Simon + Schuster Inc.

When it comes to the climate, we don't need more marketing or anxiety. We need established facts and a plan for collective action.The climate is the fundamental issue of our time, yet it seems we can barely agree on what is really going on, let alone what needs to be done. We urgently need facts, not opinions. Insights, not statistics.The Carbon Almanac is a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between hundreds of writers, researchers, thinkers, and leaders that focuses on what we know, what has come before, and what might happen next. With thousands of data points, articles and charts explaining carbon's impact on everything in our society, from our the economy to extreme weather events, it is the definitive source for facts and the basis for a global movement to fight climate change. This book isn't what the oil companies, marketers, activists, or politicians want you to believe. This is what's really happening, right now. Our planet is in trouble, and no one concerned group, corporation, country, or hemisphere canaddress this on its own. We are in this together. And it's not too late for concerted, collective action for change.

Without a moment's pause, we share our most intimate thoughts with trillion-dollar tech companies. Their algorithms categorize us and jump to conclusions about who we are. They even shape our everyday thoughts and actions - from who we date to how we vote. But this is just the latest front in an age-old struggle.Part history and part manifesto, Freedom to Think charts the history and importance of our most basic human right: freedom of thought. From Galileo to Nudge Theory to Alexa, human rights lawyer Susie Alegre explores how the powerful have always sought to get inside our heads, influence how we think and shape what we buy. Providing a bold new framework to understand how our agency is being gradually undermined, Freedom to Think is a ground-breaking and vital charter for taking back our humanity and safeguarding our reason.

New York Times bestselling author Gregg Braden crosses the traditional boundaries of science and spirituality to answer the timeless question at the core of our existence: who are we? Gregg offers concrete solutions to the social issues that are destroying our families and dividing us as people, incl. bullying, hate crimes and religious extremism.

How a new breed of dictators holds power by manipulating information and faking democracyHitler, Stalin, and Mao ruled through violence, fear, and ideology. But in recent decades a new breed of media-savvy strongmen has been redesigning authoritarian rule for a more sophisticated, globally connected world. In place of overt, mass repression, rulers such as Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Viktor Orban control their citizens by distorting information and simulating democratic procedures. Like spin doctors in democracies, they spin the news to engineer support. Uncovering this new brand of authoritarianism, Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman explain the rise of such "e;spin dictators,"e; describing how they emerge and operate, the new threats they pose, and how democracies should respond.Spin Dictators traces how leaders such as Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and Peru's Alberto Fujimori pioneered less violent, more covert, and more effective methods of monopolizing power. They cultivated an image of competence, concealed censorship, and used democratic institutions to undermine democracy, all while increasing international engagement for financial and reputational benefits. The book reveals why most of today's authoritarians are spin dictators-and how they differ from the remaining "e;fear dictators"e; such as Kim Jong-un and Bashar al-Assad, as well as from masters of high-tech repression like Xi Jinping.Offering incisive portraits of today's authoritarian leaders, Spin Dictators explains some of the great political puzzles of our time-from how dictators can survive in an age of growing modernity to the disturbing convergence and mutual sympathy between dictators and populists like Donald Trump.

'An original, wide-ranging and carefully researched book ... contains important lessons for humanity.' Mark Cocker, The SpectatorA fascinating insight into climate change biology around the globe, as well as in our own backyards.Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid is the first major book by a biologist to focus on the fascinating story of how the natural world is adjusting, adapting, and sometimes measurably evolving in response to climate change. Lyrical and thought-provoking, this book broadens the climate focus from humans to the wider lattice of life.Bestselling nature writer Thor Hanson - author of Buzz (a Radio 4 'Book of the Week') - shows us how Caribbean lizards have grown larger toe pads to grip trees more tightly during frequent hurricanes; and how the 'plasticity' of squid has allowed them to change their body size and breeding habits to cope with altered sea temperatures.Plants and animals have a great deal to teach us about the nature of what comes next, because for many of them, and also for many of us, that world is already here.

Are there other dimensions beyond our own? Is time travel possible? Can we change the past? Are there gateways to parallel universes? All of us have pondered such questions, but there was a time when scientists dismissed these notions as outlandish speculations. Not any more. Today, they are the focus of the most intense scientific activity in recent memory. In Hyperspace, Michio Kaku, author of the widely acclaimed Beyond Einstein and a leading theoretical physicist, offers the first book-length tour of the most exciting (and perhaps most bizarre) work in modern physics, work which includes research on the tenth dimension, time warps, black holes, and multiple universes. The theory of hyperspace (or higher dimensional space)--and its newest wrinkle, superstring theory--stand at the center of this revolution, with adherents in every major research laboratory in the world, including several Nobel laureates. Beginning where Hawking's Brief History of Time left off, Kaku paints a vivid portrayal of the breakthroughs now rocking the physics establishment. Why all the excitement? As the author points out, for over half a century, scientists have puzzled over why the basic forces of the cosmos--gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces--require markedly different mathematical descriptions. But if we see these forces as vibrations in a higher dimensional space, their field equations suddenly fit together like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, perfectly snug, in an elegant, astonishingly simple form. This may thus be our leading candidate for the Theory of Everything. If so, it would be the crowning achievement of 2,000 years of scientific investigation into matter and its forces. Already, the theory has inspired several thousand research papers, and has been the focus of over 200 international conferences. Michio Kaku is one of the leading pioneers in superstring theory and has been at the forefront of this revolution in modern physics. With Hyperspace, he has produced a book for general readers which conveys the vitality of the field and the excitement as scientists grapple with the meaning of space and time. It is an exhilarating look at physics today and an eye-opening glimpse into the ultimate nature of the universe.