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  • by James Wiley & Herbert A. Raffaele
    £14.99

    The essential guide to the living wonders of the Caribbean islandsThis is the first comprehensive illustrated guide to the natural world of the Caribbean islands. It contains 600 vivid color images featuring 451 species of plants, birds, mammals, fish, seashells, and much more. While the guide primarily looks at the most conspicuous and widespread species among the islands, it also includes rarely seen creatures-such as the Rhinoceros Iguana and Cuban Solenodon-giving readers a special sense of the region's diverse wildlife.Each species is represented by one or more color photos or illustrations; details regarding its identification, status, and distribution; and interesting aspects of its life history or relationship to humans. In addition, an introductory section focuses on the unique characteristics of the Caribbean's fauna and flora, the threats faced by both, and some of the steps being taken to sustain the area's extraordinary natural heritage.Wildlife of the Caribbean is the essential field guide for learning about the living wonders in this area of the world.The only guide of its kind for the Caribbean islands600 detailed color images feature 451 amazing speciesStraightforward descriptions suitable for general audienceCompact size makes the guide easy to carry

  • - A Four Billion Year History
    by Donald E. Canfield
    £14.99

    The remarkable scientific story of how Earth became an oxygenated planetThe air we breathe is twenty-one percent oxygen, an amount higher than on any other known world. While we may take our air for granted, Earth was not always an oxygenated planet. How did it become this way? Donald Canfield-one of the world's leading authorities on geochemistry, earth history, and the early oceans-covers this vast history, emphasizing its relationship to the evolution of life and the evolving chemistry of the Earth. Canfield guides readers through the various lines of scientific evidence, considers some of the wrong turns and dead ends along the way, and highlights the scientists and researchers who have made key discoveries in the field. Showing how Earth's atmosphere developed over time, Oxygen takes readers on a remarkable journey through the history of the oxygenation of our planet.

  • by Albert Einstein
    £14.49 - 17.49

    Here is the definitive new edition of the hugely popular collection of Einstein quotations that has sold tens of thousands of copies worldwide and been translated into twenty-five languages.The Ultimate Quotable Einstein features 400 additional quotes, bringing the total to roughly 1,600 in all. This ultimate edition includes new sections--"e;On and to Children,"e; "e;On Race and Prejudice,"e; and "e;Einstein's Verses: A Small Selection"e;--as well as a chronology of Einstein's life and accomplishments, Freeman Dyson's authoritative foreword, and new commentary by Alice Calaprice.In The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, readers will also find quotes by others about Einstein along with quotes attributed to him. Every quotation in this informative and entertaining collection is fully documented, and Calaprice has carefully selected new photographs and cartoons to introduce each section.Features 400 additional quotationsContains roughly 1,600 quotations in allIncludes new sections on children, race and prejudice, and Einstein's poetryProvides new commentaryBeautifully illustratedThe most comprehensive collection of Einstein quotes ever published

  • - Machine Gambling in Las Vegas
    by Natasha Dow Schull
    £23.49

    Recent decades have seen a dramatic shift away from social forms of gambling played around roulette wheels and card tables to solitary gambling at electronic terminals. Slot machines, revamped by ever more compelling digital and video technology, have unseated traditional casino games as the gambling industry's revenue mainstay. Addiction by Design takes readers into the intriguing world of machine gambling, an increasingly popular and absorbing form of play that blurs the line between human and machine, compulsion and control, risk and reward.Drawing on fifteen years of field research in Las Vegas, anthropologist Natasha Dow Schull shows how the mechanical rhythm of electronic gambling pulls players into a trancelike state they call the "e;machine zone,"e; in which daily worries, social demands, and even bodily awareness fade away. Once in the zone, gambling addicts play not to win but simply to keep playing, for as long as possible--even at the cost of physical and economic exhaustion. In continuous machine play, gamblers seek to lose themselves while the gambling industry seeks profit. Schull describes the strategic calculations behind game algorithms and machine ergonomics, casino architecture and "e;ambience management,"e; player tracking and cash access systems--all designed to meet the market's desire for maximum "e;time on device."e; Her account moves from casino floors into gamblers' everyday lives, from gambling industry conventions and Gamblers Anonymous meetings to regulatory debates over whether addiction to gambling machines stems from the consumer, the product, or the interplay between the two.Addiction by Design is a compelling inquiry into the intensifying traffic between people and machines of chance, offering clues to some of the broader anxieties and predicaments of contemporary life. At stake in Schull's account of the intensifying traffic between people and machines of chance is a blurring of the line between design and experience, profit and loss, control and compulsion.

  • - The Story of Earth from the Big Bang to Humankind - Revised and Expanded Edition
    by Wally Broecker & Charles H. Langmuir
    £36.49

    Since its first publication more than twenty-five years ago, How to Build a Habitable Planet has established a legendary reputation as an accessible yet scientifically impeccable introduction to the origin and evolution of Earth, from the Big Bang through the rise of human civilization. This classic account of how our habitable planet was assembled from the stuff of stars introduced readers to planetary, Earth, and climate science by way of a fascinating narrative. Now this great book has been made even better. Harvard geochemist Charles Langmuir has worked closely with the original author, Wally Broecker, one of the world's leading Earth scientists, to revise and expand the book for a new generation of readers for whom active planetary stewardship is becoming imperative. Interweaving physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, and biology, this sweeping account tells Earth's complete story, from the synthesis of chemical elements in stars, to the formation of the Solar System, to the evolution of a habitable climate on Earth, to the origin of life and humankind. The book also addresses the search for other habitable worlds in the Milky Way and contemplates whether Earth will remain habitable as our influence on global climate grows. It concludes by considering the ways in which humankind can sustain Earth's habitability and perhaps even participate in further planetary evolution. Like no other book, How to Build a Habitable Planet provides an understanding of Earth in its broadest context, as well as a greater appreciation of its possibly rare ability to sustain life over geologic time. Leading schools that have ordered, recommended for reading, or adopted this book for course use: Arizona State University Brooklyn College CUNY Columbia University Cornell University ETH Zurich Georgia Institute of Technology Harvard University Johns Hopkins University Luther College Northwestern University Ohio State University Oxford Brookes University Pan American University Rutgers University State University of New York at Binghamton Texas A&M University Trinity College Dublin University of Bristol University of California-Los Angeles University of Cambridge University Of Chicago University of Colorado at Boulder University of Glasgow University of Leicester University of Maine, Farmington University of Michigan University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Georgia University of Nottingham University of Oregon University of Oxford University of Portsmouth University of Southampton University of Ulster University of Victoria University of Wyoming Western Kentucky University Yale University

  • - Using Physical Reasoning to Solve Problems
    by Mark Levi
    £14.49

    Everybody knows that mathematics is indispensable to physics--imagine where we'd be today if Einstein and Newton didn't have the math to back up their ideas. But how many people realize that physics can be used to produce many astonishing and strikingly elegant solutions in mathematics? Mark Levi shows how in this delightful book, treating readers to a host of entertaining problems and mind-bending puzzlers that will amuse and inspire their inner physicist. Levi turns math and physics upside down, revealing how physics can simplify proofs and lead to quicker solutions and new theorems, and how physical solutions can illustrate why results are true in ways lengthy mathematical calculations never can. Did you know it's possible to derive the Pythagorean theorem by spinning a fish tank filled with water? Or that soap film holds the key to determining the cheapest container for a given volume? Or that the line of best fit for a data set can be found using a mechanical contraption made from a rod and springs? Levi demonstrates how to use physical intuition to solve these and other fascinating math problems. More than half the problems can be tackled by anyone with precalculus and basic geometry, while the more challenging problems require some calculus. This one-of-a-kind book explains physics and math concepts where needed, and includes an informative appendix of physical principles. The Mathematical Mechanic will appeal to anyone interested in the little-known connections between mathematics and physics and how both endeavors relate to the world around us.

  • - The Revised Oxford Translation
    by Aristotle
    £43.99

    The Oxford Translation of Aristotle was originally published in 12 volumes between 1912 and 1954. It is universally recognized as the standard English version of Aristotle. This revised edition contains the substance of the original Translation, slightly emended in light of recent scholarship; three of the original versions have been replaced by new translations; and a new and enlarged selection of Fragments has been added. The aim of the translation remains the same: to make the surviving works of Aristotle readily accessible to English speaking readers.

  • - The Revised Oxford Translation
    by Aristotle
    £43.99

    The Oxford Translation of Aristotle was originally published in 12 volumes between 1912 and 1954. It is universally recognized as the standard English version of Aristotle. This revised edition contains the substance of the original Translation, slightly emended in light of recent scholarship; three of the original versions have been replaced by new translations; and a new and enlarged selection of Fragments has been added. The aim of the translation remains the same: to make the surviving works of Aristotle readily accessible to English speaking readers.

  • - A Brief Economic History of the World
    by Gregory Clark
    £23.49

    Why are some parts of the world so rich and others so poor? Why did the Industrial Revolution--and the unprecedented economic growth that came with it--occur in eighteenth-century England, and not at some other time, or in some other place? Why didn't industrialization make the whole world rich--and why did it make large parts of the world even poorer? In A Farewell to Alms, Gregory Clark tackles these profound questions and suggests a new and provocative way in which culture--not exploitation, geography, or resources--explains the wealth, and the poverty, of nations. Countering the prevailing theory that the Industrial Revolution was sparked by the sudden development of stable political, legal, and economic institutions in seventeenth-century Europe, Clark shows that such institutions existed long before industrialization. He argues instead that these institutions gradually led to deep cultural changes by encouraging people to abandon hunter-gatherer instincts-violence, impatience, and economy of effort-and adopt economic habits-hard work, rationality, and education. The problem, Clark says, is that only societies that have long histories of settlement and security seem to develop the cultural characteristics and effective workforces that enable economic growth. For the many societies that have not enjoyed long periods of stability, industrialization has not been a blessing. Clark also dissects the notion, championed by Jared Diamond in Guns, Germs, and Steel, that natural endowments such as geography account for differences in the wealth of nations. A brilliant and sobering challenge to the idea that poor societies can be economically developed through outside intervention, A Farewell to Alms may change the way global economic history is understood.

  • - Living with High Risk Technologies - Updated Edition
    by Charles Perrow
    £28.49

    Normal Accidents analyzes the social side of technological risk. Charles Perrow argues that the conventional engineering approach to ensuring safety--building in more warnings and safeguards--fails because systems complexity makes failures inevitable. He asserts that typical precautions, by adding to complexity, may help create new categories of accidents. (At Chernobyl, tests of a new safety system helped produce the meltdown and subsequent fire.) By recognizing two dimensions of risk--complex versus linear interactions, and tight versus loose coupling--this book provides a powerful framework for analyzing risks and the organizations that insist we run them. The first edition fulfilled one reviewer's prediction that it "e;may mark the beginning of accident research."e; In the new afterword to this edition Perrow reviews the extensive work on the major accidents of the last fifteen years, including Bhopal, Chernobyl, and the Challenger disaster. The new postscript probes what the author considers to be the "e;quintessential 'Normal Accident'"e; of our time: the Y2K computer problem.

  • - Eight Centuries of Financial Folly
    by Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff
    £16.49

    Throughout history, rich and poor countries alike have been lending, borrowing, crashing--and recovering--their way through an extraordinary range of financial crises. Each time, the experts have chimed, "e;this time is different"e;--claiming that the old rules of valuation no longer apply and that the new situation bears little similarity to past disasters. With this breakthrough study, leading economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff definitively prove them wrong. Covering sixty-six countries across five continents, This Time Is Different presents a comprehensive look at the varieties of financial crises, and guides us through eight astonishing centuries of government defaults, banking panics, and inflationary spikes--from medieval currency debasements to today's subprime catastrophe. Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, leading economists whose work has been influential in the policy debate concerning the current financial crisis, provocatively argue that financial combustions are universal rites of passage for emerging and established market nations. The authors draw important lessons from history to show us how much--or how little--we have learned. Using clear, sharp analysis and comprehensive data, Reinhart and Rogoff document that financial fallouts occur in clusters and strike with surprisingly consistent frequency, duration, and ferocity. They examine the patterns of currency crashes, high and hyperinflation, and government defaults on international and domestic debts--as well as the cycles in housing and equity prices, capital flows, unemployment, and government revenues around these crises. While countries do weather their financial storms, Reinhart and Rogoff prove that short memories make it all too easy for crises to recur. An important book that will affect policy discussions for a long time to come, This Time Is Different exposes centuries of financial missteps.

  • by J. M. Coetzee
    £12.99

    The idea of human cruelty to animals so consumes novelist Elizabeth Costello in her later years that she can no longer look another person in the eye: humans, especially meat-eating ones, seem to her to be conspirators in a crime of stupefying magnitude taking place on farms and in slaughterhouses, factories, and laboratories across the world. Costello's son, a physics professor, admires her literary achievements, but dreads his mother's lecturing on animal rights at the college where he teaches. His colleagues resist her argument that human reason is overrated and that the inability to reason does not diminish the value of life; his wife denounces his mother's vegetarianism as a form of moral superiority. At the dinner that follows her first lecture, the guests confront Costello with a range of sympathetic and skeptical reactions to issues of animal rights, touching on broad philosophical, anthropological, and religious perspectives. Painfully for her son, Elizabeth Costello seems offensive and flaky, but--dare he admit it?--strangely on target. Here the internationally renowned writer J. M. Coetzee uses fiction to present a powerfully moving discussion of animal rights in all their complexity. He draws us into Elizabeth Costello's own sense of mortality, her compassion for animals, and her alienation from humans, even from her own family. In his fable, presented as a Tanner Lecture sponsored by the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, Coetzee immerses us in a drama reflecting the real-life situation at hand: a writer delivering a lecture on an emotionally charged issue at a prestigious university. Literature, philosophy, performance, and deep human conviction--Coetzee brings all these elements into play. As in the story of Elizabeth Costello, the Tanner Lecture is followed by responses treating the reader to a variety of perspectives, delivered by leading thinkers in different fields. Coetzee's text is accompanied by an introduction by political philosopher Amy Gutmann and responsive essays by religion scholar Wendy Doniger, primatologist Barbara Smuts, literary theorist Marjorie Garber, and moral philosopher Peter Singer, author of Animal Liberation. Together the lecture-fable and the essays explore the palpable social consequences of uncompromising moral conflict and confrontation.

  • by C. G. Jung
    £23.49

    First published in German in 1951, this is one of the major works of Jung's later years. Its central theme is the symbolic representation of the psychic totality through the concept of the Self, whose traditional historical equivalent is the figure of Christ.

  • - Journey without Borders
    by Masayo Duus
    £28.49

    Isamu Noguchi was one of the most prolific yet enigmatic figures in the history of twentieth-century American art. This book features his biography. It draws on Noguchi's letters, his reminiscences, and interviews with his friends and colleagues to cast light on his youth, his creativity, and his relationships.

  •  
    £68.99

    Presents two hundred entries that introduce basic mathematical tools and vocabulary. This title traces the development of modern mathematics. It explains essential terms and concepts; examines core ideas in major areas of mathematics; and describes the achievements of scores of famous mathematicians.

  • by Christopher I. Beckwith
    £17.49 - 28.49

    A rich, discovery-filled history that tells how a forgotten empire transformed the ancient world In the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE, Scythian warriors conquered and unified most of the vast Eurasian continent, creating an innovative empire that would give birth to the age of philosophy and the Classical age across the ancient world--in the West, the Near East, India, and China. Mobile horse herders who lived with their cats in wheeled felt tents, the Scythians made stunning contributions to world civilization--from capital cities and strikingly elegant dress to political organization and the world-changing ideas of Buddha, Zoroaster, and Laotzu--Scythians all. In The Scythian Empire, Christopher I. Beckwith presents a major new history of a fascinating but often forgotten empire that changed the course of history. At its height, the Scythian Empire stretched west from Mongolia and ancient northeast China to northwest Iran and the Danube River, and in Central Asia reached as far south as the Arabian Sea. The Scythians also ruled Media and Chao, crucial frontier states of ancient Iran and China. By ruling over and marrying the local peoples, the Scythians created new cultures that were creole Scythian in their speech, dress, weaponry, and feudal socio-political structure. As they spread their language, ideas, and culture across the ancient world, the Scythians laid the foundations for the very first Persian, Indian, and Chinese empires. Filled with fresh discoveries, The Scythian Empire presents a remarkable new vision of a little-known but incredibly important empire and its peoples.

  • by Alan S. Blinder
    £17.49

    From the New York Times bestselling author, the fascinating story of U.S. economic policy from Kennedy to Biden--filled with lessons for today In this book, Alan Blinder, one of the world's most influential economists and one of the field's best writers, draws on his deep firsthand experience to provide an authoritative account of sixty years of monetary and fiscal policy in the United States. Spanning twelve presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Joe Biden, and eight Federal Reserve chairs, from William McChesney Martin to Jerome Powell, this is an insider's story of macroeconomic policy that hasn't been told before--one that is a pleasure to read, and as interesting as it is important. Focusing on the most significant developments and long-term changes, Blinder traces the highs and lows of monetary and fiscal policy, which have by turns cooperated and clashed through many recessions and several long booms over the past six decades. From the fiscal policy of Kennedy's New Frontier to Biden's responses to the pandemic, the book takes readers through the stagflation of the 1970s, the conquest of inflation under Jimmy Carter and Paul Volcker, the rise of Reaganomics, and the bubbles of the 2000s before bringing the story up through recent events--including the financial crisis, the Great Recession, and monetary policy during COVID-19. A lively and concise narrative that is sure to become a classic, A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961-2021 is filled with vital lessons for anyone who wants to better understand where the economy has been--and where it might be headed.

  • by Jim (Jack C. Threet and Richard L. Threet Professor) Best
    £39.99

    A stunningly illustrated atlas of the world's rivers, estuaries, and deltas, and their ecosystemsFrom the Congo and the Mekong to the Seine and the Mississippi, Earth's rivers carve through landscapes before coursing into the world's oceans through estuaries and deltas. Their inexorable flow carries sediment and more, acting as lifeblood for a variety of ecosystems and communities. More than any other surface feature of Earth, rivers, estuaries, and deltas are vitally important to our economic and social well-being, and our management of them often sits at the sharp edge of today's most pressing environmental challenges. The World Atlas of Rivers, Estuaries, and Deltas takes readers on an unforgettable tour of these dynamic bodies of water, explaining how they function at each stage of their flow. Combining maps and graphics with informative essays and beautiful photos, this invaluable reference book will give you a new appreciation for the power that rivers, estuaries, and deltas wield. Features a wealth of color photos, maps, and infographicsBrings together invaluable perspectives from leading expertsDescribes the rich biodiversity associated with the world's rivers, estuaries, and deltasExplains how rivers, estuaries, and deltas work, from river networks to deltaic floodplains, and sheds light on the erosion, movement, and deposition of sedimentDescribes the anatomy of rivers, estuaries, and deltas, from channel geometry and river planforms to estuarine shape and delta morphologyExamines the ecology and ecosystems of rivers, estuaries, and deltas and how humans interact with these environmentsAdditional topics include damming, climate change, water use, pollution, resource management, and planetary health, as well as future perspectives on these vital landscapes

  • by Strabo
    £43.99

    A lively new translation of Strabo's complete Geography--an encyclopedic guide to the ancient world of the first century CE--connecting it with the world of the twenty-first century Strabo's Geography is an encyclopedic description of the ancient world as it appeared to a contemporary observer in the early Roman Empire. Information about taming elephants, collecting saffron, producing asphalt, and practicing yoga is found alongside accounts of prostitution, volcanic activity, religious festivals, and obscure eastern dynasties--all set against the shifting backdrop of political power in the first century CE. Traveling around the Mediterranean, Strabo gathered knowledge of places and people, supplementing his first-hand experiences with an immense amount of reading to create a sweeping chronicle that attempts to answer the implicit questions "Who are we?" and "Where do we come from?" Sarah Pothecary's new translation of Strabo's complete Geography makes this important work more accessible, relevant, and enjoyable than ever before. Conveying the informal, lively, and almost journalistic style of Strabo's Greek, this translation connects the ancient and modern worlds by providing modern names and maps for places mentioned in the text, a generous page layout, and marginal notes, allowing readers to appreciate Strabo's work directly and immediately. The result mimics what Strabo was doing two thousand years ago--relating the rapidly changing present of his original readers to their own ancient past. A remarkable translation of Strabo's remarkable window on the ancient world, this is essential reading for anyone interested in how we look at both antiquity and the world today.

  • by Thomas D. Seeley
    £20.99

    "Thomas Seeley has spent his career unraveling the mysteries of honey bee behavior. His goal has been to understand how the 30,000 or so bees in a colony work together as a unit to accomplish such things as finding and occupying a snug nest cavity, furnishing it with beeswax combs, filling these combs with brood and food, and keeping themselves well nourished, comfortably warm, and safe from intruders. In this book, Seeley's goal is to illuminate these and other mysteries about the workings of honey bee colonies and explore how those mysteries were solved. Seeley's aim, as he says, is to review how and what he and his colleagues have learned about honey bees and to share some things that are not in the scientific papers: the personal experiences that drew him to these studies, the little observations that led to important insights, and the feelings of delight that came with solving each mystery. The book's thirty chapters are roughly chronological, offering a meta-history of the field alongside explication of various studies. Each chapter is structured approximately the same way: first, Seeley describes how he and his colleagues discovered a specific mystery about how a colony works, then how they solved it, and finally each closes with an explanation of the implications of the mystery and the way it fits into the wider field of honey bee research. Intimate and informative, PIPING HOT BEES AND BOISTEROUS BUZZ-RUNNERS will weave together personal narrative with the results of over 50 years of research into honey bees and honey bee colonies. It will offer context for more current research and introduce readers to the deep workings of honey bee behavior"--

  • by Jurgen Renn
    £23.49

    How the Einsteinian revolution can be understood as the result of a long-term evolution of science The revolution that emerged from Albert Einstein's work in the early twentieth century transformed our understanding of space, time, motion, gravity, matter, and radiation. Beginning with Einstein's miracle year of 1905 and continuing through his development of the theory of general relativity, Einstein spurred a revolution that continues to reverberate in modern-day physics. In The Einsteinian Revolution, Hanoch Gutfreund and Jürgen Renn trace the century-long transformation of classical physics and argue that the revolution begun by Einstein was in fact the result of a long-term evolution. Describing the origins and context of Einstein's innovative research, Gutfreund and Renn work to dispel the popular myth of Einstein as a lone genius who brought about a revolution in physics through the power of his own pure thought. We can only understand the birth of modern physics, they say, if we understand the long history of the evolution of knowledge. Gutfreund and Renn outline the essential structures of the knowledge system of classical physics on which Einstein drew. Examining Einstein's discoveries from 1905 onward, they describe the process by which new concepts arose and the basis of modern physics emerged. These transformations continued, eventually resulting in the establishment of quantum physics and general relativity as the two major conceptual frameworks of modern physics--and its two unreconciled theoretical approaches. Gutfreund and Renn note that Einstein was dissatisfied with this conceptual dichotomy and began a search for a unified understanding of physics--a quest that continued for the rest of his life.

  • by David M. Pena-Guzman
    £13.49 - 17.49

    A spellbinding look at the philosophical and moral implications of animal dreamingAre humans the only dreamers on Earth? What goes on in the minds of animals when they sleep? When Animals Dream brings together behavioral and neuroscientific research on animal sleep with philosophical theories of dreaming. It shows that dreams provide an invaluable window into the cognitive and emotional lives of nonhuman animals, giving us access to a seemingly inaccessible realm of animal experience.David Pena-Guzman uncovers evidence of animal dreaming throughout the scientific literature, suggesting that many animals run "e;reality simulations"e; while asleep, with a dream-ego moving through a dynamic and coherent dreamscape. He builds a convincing case for animals as conscious beings and examines the thorny scientific, philosophical, and ethical questions it raises. Once we accept that animals dream, we incur a host of moral obligations and have no choice but to rethink our views about who animals are and the interior lives they lead.A mesmerizing journey into the otherworldly domain of nonhuman consciousness, When Animals Dream carries profound implications for contemporary debates about animal cognition, animal ethics, and animal rights, challenging us to regard animals as beings who matter, and for whom things matter.

  • by Anne Varichon
    £36.49

    A beautifully illustrated history of the many inventive, poetic, and beautiful ways in which color swatches have been selected and staged The need to categorize and communicate color has mobilized practitioners and scholars for centuries. Color Charts describes the many different methods and ingenious devices developed since the fifteenth century by doctors, naturalists, dyers, and painters to catalog fragments of colors. With the advent of industrial society, manufacturers and merchants developed some of the most beautiful and varied tools ever designed to present all the available colors. Thanks to them, society has discovered the abundance of color embodied in a plethora of materials: cuts of fabric, leather, paper, and rubber; slats of wood and linoleum; delicate skeins of silk; careful deposits of paint and pastels; fragments of lipstick; and arrangements of flower petals. These samples shape a visual culture and a chromatic vocabulary and instill a deep desire for color. Anne Varichon traces the emergence of modern color charts from a set of processes developed over the centuries in various contexts. She presents illuminating examples that bring this remarkable story to life, from ancient writings revealing attention to precise shade to contemporary designers' color charts, dyers' notebooks, and Werner's famous color nomenclature. Varichon argues that color charts have linked generations of artists, artisans, scientists, industrialists, and merchants, and have played an essential and enduring role in the way societies think about color. Drawing on nearly two hundred documents from public and private collections, almost all of them previously unpublished, this wonderfully illustrated book shows how the color chart, in its many distinct forms and expressions, is a practical tool that has transcended its original purpose to become an educational aid and subject of contemplation worthy of being studied and admired.

  • by Angus Deaton
    £13.49 - 17.49

  • by Jason K. Stearns
    £16.49 - 23.49

    Why violence in the Congo has continued despite decades of international intervention Well into its third decade, the military conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been dubbed a "e;forever war"e;-a perpetual cycle of war, civil unrest, and local feuds over power and identity. Millions have died in one of the worst humanitarian calamities of our time. The War That Doesn't Say Its Name investigates the most recent phase of this conflict, asking why the peace deal of 2003-accompanied by the largest United Nations peacekeeping mission in the world and tens of billions in international aid-has failed to stop the violence. Jason Stearns argues that the fighting has become an end in itself, carried forward in substantial part through the apathy and complicity of local and international actors.Stearns shows that regardless of the suffering, there has emerged a narrow military bourgeoisie of commanders and politicians for whom the conflict is a source of survival, dignity, and profit. Foreign donors provide food and urgent health care for millions, preventing the Congolese state from collapsing, but this involvement has not yielded transformational change. Stearns gives a detailed historical account of this period, focusing on the main players-Congolese and Rwandan states and the main armed groups. He extrapolates from these dynamics to other conflicts across Africa and presents a theory of conflict that highlights the interests of the belligerents and the social structures from which they arise.Exploring how violence in the Congo has become preoccupied with its own reproduction, The War That Doesn't Say Its Name sheds light on why certain military feuds persist without resolution.

  • by Maxwell V. L. Barclay
    £20.99

    A richly illustrated guide to the astonishing variety of beetles around the world Beetles make up about a quarter of known animal species and are arguably the most diverse group of organisms on Earth: almost 400,000 species have been formally described so far, and it is likely that this number merely scratches the surface. In Beetles of the World, Maxwell Barclay and Patrice Bouchard--two of the world's foremost beetle experts--celebrate these remarkable creatures in all their variety, from their size and appearance to their ecological importance. Providing concise accounts of all the major families and subfamilies of Coleoptera, Beetles of the World explores beetle anatomy, life cycle, fossil history, feeding habits, role in the food web, habitats, relationship with humans, and classification--as well as the essential part that beetles play in the global ecosystem, and the ways humans can help protect them.Features 300 stunning color photographsPresents family profiles with a distribution map, table of information, and commentaryIncludes a comprehensive introduction that provides insight into the astonishing diversity of beetles and their histories

  • by C. G. Jung
    £28.49

    Jung's lectures on the psychology of Jesuit spiritual practice-unabridged in English for the first timeBetween 1933 and 1941, C. G. Jung delivered a series of public lectures at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Intended for a general audience, these lectures addressed a broad range of topics, from yoga and meditation to dream analysis and the psychology of alchemy. Here for the first time are Jung's complete lectures on Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises, delivered in the winter of 1939-1940.These illuminating lectures are the culmination of Jung's investigation into traditional forms of meditation and their parallels to his psychotherapeutic method of active imagination. Jung presents Loyola's exercises as the prime example of a Christian practice comparable to yoga and Eastern meditation, and gives a psychological interpretation of the visions depicted in the saint's autobiographical writings. Offering a unique opportunity to encounter the brilliant psychologist as he shares his ideas with the general public, the lectures reflect Jung's increasingly positive engagement with Roman Catholicism, a development that would lead to his fruitful collaborations after the war with eminent Catholic theologians such as Victor White, Bruno de Jesus-Marie, and Hugo Rahner.Featuring an authoritative introduction by Martin Liebscher along with explanations of Jungian concepts and psychological terminology, this splendid book provides an invaluable window on the evolution of Jung's thought and a vital key to understanding his later work.

  • by A. Zee
    £28.49

    An exceptionally accessible introduction to quantum field theoryQuantum field theory is by far the most spectacularly successful theory in physics, but also one of the most mystifying. Quantum Field Theory, as Simply as Possible provides an essential primer on the subject, giving readers the conceptual foundations they need to wrap their heads around one of the most important yet baffling subjects in physics.Quantum field theory grew out of quantum mechanics in the late 1930s and was developed by a generation of brilliant young theorists, including Julian Schwinger and Richard Feynman. Their predictions were experimentally verified to an astounding accuracy unmatched by the rest of physics. Quantum field theory unifies quantum mechanics and special relativity, thus providing the framework for understanding the quantum mysteries of the subatomic world. With his trademark blend of wit and physical insight, A. Zee guides readers from the classical notion of the field to the modern frontiers of quantum field theory, covering a host of topics along the way, including antimatter, Feynman diagrams, virtual particles, the path integral, quantum chromodynamics, electroweak unification, grand unification, and quantum gravity.A unique and valuable introduction for students and general readers alike, Quantum Field Theory, as Simply as Possible explains how quantum field theory informs our understanding of the universe, and how it can shed light on some of the deepest mysteries of physics.

  • by Craig Packer
    £28.49

    "Lions lead intricate lives. They hunt together, raise cubs together, and defend territories together. But though life at the top of the food chain may mean that lions have little to fear from other species - they can easily dominate every other carnivore in their midst - they still must constantly safeguard against the threat posed by other lions. Each day is dominated by the demands of raising a family while protecting themselves against enemies endowed with the same strengths and skills. Biologist Craig Packer has spent his career studying the African lion, one of the most fascinating animals on earth. In this book, he synthesizes his decades of research in the Serengeti into an up-to-date portrait of the African lion, and reveals how he and his colleagues have come to understand this creature's behavior, ecology, and conservation. Packer opens the book by providing readers with background on lions' territory, daily behavior, lifespan, and physiology. From there he delves more deeply into lion society, illustrating the complexity of lion life from cub rearing and foraging to competition with other lions. In the final chapters, Packer zooms out to summarize what is known about lion ecological abundance and distribution as well as their conservation status. Not surprisingly, lions are increasingly threatened; however, Packer ends his book on a hopeful note, pointing to programs that are successfully protecting lion populations"--

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