This first biography of Sir Raymond Priestley is well overdue, and its absence can only be explained by the scale of research necessary to cover the breadth and variety of his achievements over a very long and active life. It will be of interest across a wide range of disciplines, especially to those for whom the "Heroic Age" of Antarctic Exploration has a particular fascination. His involvement as a member of both Sir Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod and Robert Scott's Terra Nova Expeditions, during which he played a full and, on occasions, life threatening role was followed immediately by service in the First World War during which his gallantry was recognized by the award of a Military Medal; thereafter he made a further significant contribution in writing both the Official History of the British Army Signal Service and the History of the 46th (North Midland) Division in which he served. After the war, whilst at the University of Cambridge, he played a leading role in the establishment of the Scott Polar Research Institute followed by appointments as Vice-Chancellor of the Universities of Melbourne and then Birmingham, as well as helping to establish the University of the West Indies. Later he received a knighthood for his services to education. During his retirement, a complete misnomer in his case, he went with His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh, as an Antarctic expert on the RY Britannia followed closely as the British Observer on the American Deep Freeze IV Expedition during his tenure as Acting Director of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (later, the British Antarctic Survey). It was no surprise that, against this background, he was invited to become President of the Royal Geographical Society. Despite the demands made upon him, he maintained a strong and active interest in his family's affairs throughout the whole of his life.

Originally published in 1969, this is the first biography of Susan Isaacs, the first attempt to estimate her incalculable contribution to the theory and practice of the education of young children. As a pioneer of new teaching methods, Susan Isaacs will be remembered mainly for her work at the Malting House School in Cambridge in the 1920s, and her contribution was such that in 1933 the Department of Child Development at the University of London, Institute of Education was specially created for her; she was Head of the Department until 1943. But Susan Isaacs was also a psychoanalyst, and D.W. Winnicott in his Foreword refers to the time when he was supplying cases for her child analysis training: 'I watched with interest her sensitive management of the total family situation, a difficult thing when one is engaged in learning while carrying out a psycho-analytic treatment involving daily sessions over years.' D.E.M. Gardner, who was a close friend as well as student of Susan Isaacs, begins by describing Susan's childhood in a Lancashire cotton town, and throughout the book she helps us to feel the force of Susan's personality and intellect - 'she was a truly great person, one who has had a tremendous influence for good on the attitude of parents and of teachers to the children in their care'.

This unique volume is not just an in-depth analysis of Professor Swaminathan's brilliant contributions to basic cytogenetics, radiation biology, mutagenesis and genomic affinities of cultivated potato and its wild derivatives, but also the application of the new knowledge gained to improve the productivity of agricultural crops, as also to enhance their resistance to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. No other earlier biographies of Professor Swaminathan bring out these salient dimensions of his scientific achievements made at the Wageningen University, The Netherlands, Cambridge University, UK, and Wisconsin University, USA as well as Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. This biography is also unique for its revelation that Professor Swaminathan's contributions par excellence have been in contemporary areas of crop improvement for productivity and resistance to pests and diseases.This volume is also unique in bringing out that Professor Swaminathan, Father of India's Green Revolution, wanted to use this chemically intensified system only to gain 'breathing space' and went on to propose a 'systems approach' - based evergreen revolution in order to 'achieve productivity in perpetuity' through various pathways of ecoagriculture, and also integrated it with avenues for on-farm and non-farm livelihoods. Towards this goal, he made innovative uses of ecotechnologies in a 'biovillage' paradigm and modern information and communication technology (ICT) in Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs) to provide skill and knowledge empowerment respectively of the resource-poor rural women and men towards sustainable management of the natural resources for creating income-generating on-farm and non-farm livelihoods. This volume also brings out how Professor Swaminathan elegantly combined intellect and labour (hard work), and professional zeal with compassion for the poor. He is always open to new ideas, and new technologies without of course, compromising the values of traditional knowledge and ecological prudence of the rural and tribal people. This volume nicely captures how Professor Swaminathan with a deep and comprehensive understanding of the threats to the ecological foundations of agriculture and sustainable rural development, environmental degradation, social inequities and the climate change risks, has also harnessed science and technology to convert challenges into opportunities. This volume is written in a manner to serve also as a text book, going beyond the scope of just a biography. That should benefit generations of students on one hand, and sustain an interest in the book for many years on the other.

Carol Ruckdeschel is the wildest woman in America. She wrestles alligators, eats roadkill, rides horses bareback, and lives in a ramshackle cabin that she built by hand in an island wilderness. A combination of Henry David Thoreau and Jane Goodall, Carol is a self-taught scientist who has become a tireless defender of sea turtles on Cumberland Island, a national park off the coast of Georgia. Cumberland, the country's largest and most biologically diverse barrier island, is celebrated for its windswept dunes and feral horses. Steel magnate Thomas Carnegie once owned much of the island, and in recent years, Carnegie heirs and the National Park Service have clashed with Carol over the island's future. What happens when a dirt-poor naturalist with only a high school diploma becomes an outspoken advocate on a celebrated but divisive island? Untamed is the story of an American original standing her ground and fighting for what she believes in, no matter the cost.

Why are some nations rich and others poor? Why do the citizens of some countries lead a happy, prosperous life while others struggle in terrible want?This book takes the reader through the eventful life journey of one of Singapore's best known economists and educators, Professor Lim Chong Yah. Born in Malacca, the author planted tapioca to feed himself and his family, caught fish in paddy fields and was thrown in jail as a 10-year-old during the war. He fought to win a Commonwealth scholarship to get a decent education, met the love of his life at a Chinese New Year party, became a Professor at two of the best universities in Asia, and went on to write one the most widely-used economics textbooks of the time, Elements of Economic Theory.At 84, Lim Chong Yah is as feisty, indomitable and curious as when he was a small, cheeky boy catching fighting fish in those paddy fields. And he still asks the fundamental question of how each of us can make a difference.

Colleagues and former students of the late Professor Pritchard (aka Bob), an eminent UK geneticist, have gathered memories about his scientific and personal life. Bob's early, crucial contributions to decipher gene structure and mechanism of recombination in fungi, and those in bacterial physiology and the cell cycle, are briefly summarized. Bob was appointed as a young professor (34 years old) to open a new Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester, a department that thrived under his leadership to become internationally recognized for the quality of its scientific research and teaching. Pritchard's research studies on Microbial Genetics and Physiology and his intellectual leadership were pioneering and instrumental in the development of Molecular Biology and Bacterial Cell Biology.Recollections from the contributors about their interactions with Bob will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the history of Genetics in the UK, during the 1960s and 1970s. To future generations of investigators, they provide insights into how unbiased honesty, humbleness, incisiveness, generosity and friendship are cornerstones for the advancement of human knowledge.The book has been compiled from articles by 26 colleagues, former students and friends of Bob Pritchard, and of his surviving daughter, each from his/her personal viewpoint. They include 17 Professors, 2 Readers, 4 Doctors (all PhD's), 2 politicians and an Attorney, and are citizens of 6 countries (UK-14, USA-5, FR-3, ES-2, IL-1, AU-1). Each chapter has been written independently of the others hence marked differences in length (between 1-10 pp) and style. The 44 photographs were gathered from their personal collections.

Colleagues and former students of the late Professor Pritchard (aka Bob), an eminent UK geneticist, have gathered memories about his scientific and personal life. Bob's early, crucial contributions to decipher gene structure and mechanism of recombination in fungi, and those in bacterial physiology and the cell cycle, are briefly summarized. Bob was appointed as a young professor (34 years old) to open a new Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester, a department that thrived under his leadership to become internationally recognized for the quality of its scientific research and teaching. Pritchard's research studies on Microbial Genetics and Physiology and his intellectual leadership were pioneering and instrumental in the development of Molecular Biology and Bacterial Cell Biology.Recollections from the contributors about their interactions with Bob will be enjoyed by anyone interested in the history of Genetics in the UK, during the 1960s and 1970s. To future generations of investigators, they provide insights into how unbiased honesty, humbleness, incisiveness, generosity and friendship are cornerstones for the advancement of human knowledge.The book has been compiled from articles by 26 colleagues, former students and friends of Bob Pritchard, and of his surviving daughter, each from his/her personal viewpoint. They include 17 Professors, 2 Readers, 4 Doctors (all PhD's), 2 politicians and an Attorney, and are citizens of 6 countries (UK-14, USA-5, FR-3, ES-2, IL-1, AU-1). Each chapter has been written independently of the others hence marked differences in length (between 1-10 pp) and style. The 44 photographs were gathered from their personal collections.

Born in Poland in 1473, Nicolaus Copernicus launched a quiet revolution. No scientist so radically transformed our understanding of our place in the universe as this curious bishop's doctor and church official. In his quest to discover a beautiful and coherent system to describe the motions of the planets, Copernicus placed the sun in the center of the system and made the earth a planet traveling around the sun. Today it is hard to imagine our solar system any other way, but for his time Copernicus's idea was earthshaking. In 1616 the church banned his book Revolutions because it contradicted the accepted notion that God placed Earth in the center of the universe. Even though those who knew of his work considered his idea dangerous, Revolutions remained of interest only to other scientists for many years. It took almost two hundred years for his concept of a sun-centered system to reach the general public. None the less, what Copernicus set out in his remarkable text truly revolutionized science. For this, Copernicus, a quiet doctor who made a tremendous leap of imagination, is considered the father of the Scientific Revolution.
Oxford Portraits in Science is an on-going series of scientific biographies for young adults. Written by top scholars and writers, each biography examines the personality of its subject as well as the thought process leading to his or her discoveries. These illustrated biographies combine accessible technical information with compelling personal stories to portray the scientists whose work has shaped our understanding of the natural world.

This book focuses on the contribution of Morse's colleagues and employees to the creation of the Test Telegraph, specifically those of Ezra Cornell and Joseph Henry. The book views Morse primarily as a businessman and consolidator of ideas rather than conflicts between Morese and his associates and his effort to present a finished, uniform system under his sole imprimatur. The bulk of the material addresses three periods in Morse's life: his visit to Albany in 1823, the period leading up to and just after the creation of the Baltimore-Washington test line in 1844 and the 1860 renewal of the Magnetic Relay. The battle between Morse and Cornell over the invention of the Magnetic Relay forms a central conflict in the drama. What emerges is a complex portrait of ambitious and brilliant men and the age in which they lived.

'There is a plethora of anecdotes that provide fascinating insight into a person who has made the most of his life.'CERN CourierA unique individual with a fascinating life story, Ivar Giaever is a scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Experimental Physics in 1973. In his own words, Giaever relates an absorbing tale of how important luck and good fortune have been in shaping his life. He narrates the story of an ordinary childhood in Norway and an unremarkable undergraduate career at university. After finishing his engineering degree, he served in the Norwegian army and married his childhood sweetheart, Inger Skramstad. His desire to make a better life for his new family led Ivar to Canada and then to the United States. Even without an advanced degree in a scientific field, Ivar was given the opportunity to work with cutting-edge scientific researchers at General Electric R&D in Schenectady, New York. While there, he completed his PhD at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - one of the United States' oldest technological universities. His work on superconductivity led to worldwide recognition and the Nobel Prize. This memoire is more than the story of an accomplished, world-renowned scientist: it is an engaging reminiscence of an independent, highly creative thinker and problem solver who loves games and puzzles, skiing and windsurfing, and time with friends and family. Dr Ivar Giaever's fascinating story intertwines his views on the nature of science, scientific processes, contemporary issues such as global warming, and the great benefits the Nobel Prize has afforded him. Written with humor and often tongue-in-cheek, 'I am the Smartest Man I know' is one man's meditation on science, intellectual inquiry, and life itself.

'There is a plethora of anecdotes that provide fascinating insight into a person who has made the most of his life.'CERN CourierA unique individual with a fascinating life story, Ivar Giaever is a scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Experimental Physics in 1973. In his own words, Giaever relates an absorbing tale of how important luck and good fortune have been in shaping his life. He narrates the story of an ordinary childhood in Norway and an unremarkable undergraduate career at university. After finishing his engineering degree, he served in the Norwegian army and married his childhood sweetheart, Inger Skramstad. His desire to make a better life for his new family led Ivar to Canada and then to the United States. Even without an advanced degree in a scientific field, Ivar was given the opportunity to work with cutting-edge scientific researchers at General Electric R&D in Schenectady, New York. While there, he completed his PhD at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - one of the United States' oldest technological universities. His work on superconductivity led to worldwide recognition and the Nobel Prize. This memoire is more than the story of an accomplished, world-renowned scientist: it is an engaging reminiscence of an independent, highly creative thinker and problem solver who loves games and puzzles, skiing and windsurfing, and time with friends and family. Dr Ivar Giaever's fascinating story intertwines his views on the nature of science, scientific processes, contemporary issues such as global warming, and the great benefits the Nobel Prize has afforded him. Written with humor and often tongue-in-cheek, 'I am the Smartest Man I know' is one man's meditation on science, intellectual inquiry, and life itself.

In this absorbing memoir, well-known eco-philosopher, Buddhist scholar, and deep ecology activist/teacher Joanna Macy recounts her adventures of mind and spirit in the key social movements of our era. From involvement with the CIA and the Cold War, through experiences in Africa, India and Tibet, to her encounter with the Dalai Lama and Buddhism which led to her life-long embrace of the religion and a deep commitment to the peace and environmental movements, Macy's autobiography reads like a novel as she reflects on how her marriage and family life enriched her service to the world. Widening Circles reveals the unique synthesis of spirituality and activism that define Macy's contribution to the world.

The incredible true story of the origin of human flight, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough. On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe what had happened: the age of flight had begun, with the first heavier-than-air, powered machine carrying a pilot. Who were these men and how was it that they achieved what they did? David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, tells the surprising, profoundly human story of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Far more than a couple of unschooled Dayton bicycle mechanics who happened to hit on success, they were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity, much of which they attributed to their upbringing. In this thrilling book, McCullough draws on the immense riches of the Wright Papers, including private diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks and more than a thousand letters from private family correspondence to tell the human side of the Wright Brothers' story, including the little-known contributions of their sister, Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for them.

Nobel laureate Tu Youyou won the 2015 prize for Medicine/Physiology for the discovery of artemisinin, a drug therapy for malaria that has saved millions across the globe.This book traces the path of discovery beginning with Chairman Mao's 1964 instruction to Chinese researchers to find a cure for malaria, a disease that plagued the military and civilians alike in endemic regions. It chronicles the years of painstaking research to find effective anti-malarial drugs, and how an entry in a collection of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions gave Tu Youyou the clue which led her to successfully extract artemisinin from the plant, Artemisia annua.Gathering together information from a variety of sources including first-hand accounts, this book describes the contributions of the many organisations, scientists, doctors and countless others who played a part in the process of discovery and clinical testing. It also provides insights into the challenges of carrying out such an extensive research project with limited resources during the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution. An inspirational read for young scientists.Includes the translation of Professor Tu Youyou's 2015 Nobel Lecture.

Nobel laureate Tu Youyou won the 2015 prize for Medicine/Physiology for the discovery of artemisinin, a drug therapy for malaria that has saved millions across the globe.This book traces the path of discovery beginning with Chairman Mao's 1964 instruction to Chinese researchers to find a cure for malaria, a disease that plagued the military and civilians alike in endemic regions. It chronicles the years of painstaking research to find effective anti-malarial drugs, and how an entry in a collection of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions gave Tu Youyou the clue which led her to successfully extract artemisinin from the plant, Artemisia annua.Gathering together information from a variety of sources including first-hand accounts, this book describes the contributions of the many organisations, scientists, doctors and countless others who played a part in the process of discovery and clinical testing. It also provides insights into the challenges of carrying out such an extensive research project with limited resources during the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution. An inspirational read for young scientists.Includes the translation of Professor Tu Youyou's 2015 Nobel Lecture.

This is a new account, of how, in the early 1900s, the French-born surgeon Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) set the groundwork for the later success in human organ transplantation, and gained America's first Nobel Prize in 1912. His other contributions were the first operations on the heart, and the first cell culture methods. He was prominent in military surgery in WW1, and in the 1930s, gained further fame when collaborating with the aviator Charles Lindbergh on an organ perfusion pump.But controversy followed his every move, including concerns over scientific misconduct, notably his claim to have obtained 'immortal' heart cells, now shown to be fraudulent. In 1934, he authored a best-selling book Man, the Unknown based on his strongly-held conservative, spiritual, political and eugenic views, adding a belief in faith healing and parapsychology. He settled in Paris in WW2 under the German occupation, believing that the conditions would allow him to refashion the degenerate Western civilization. His extremist views re-emerged in the 1990s when they proved interesting to right-wing politicians, and in a bizarre twist, jihadist Islamists now laud his criticisms of the West.

This is a new account, of how, in the early 1900s, the French-born surgeon Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) set the groundwork for the later success in human organ transplantation, and gained America's first Nobel Prize in 1912. His other contributions were the first operations on the heart, and the first cell culture methods. He was prominent in military surgery in WW1, and in the 1930s, gained further fame when collaborating with the aviator Charles Lindbergh on an organ perfusion pump.But controversy followed his every move, including concerns over scientific misconduct, notably his claim to have obtained 'immortal' heart cells, now shown to be fraudulent. In 1934, he authored a best-selling book Man, the Unknown based on his strongly-held conservative, spiritual, political and eugenic views, adding a belief in faith healing and parapsychology. He settled in Paris in WW2 under the German occupation, believing that the conditions would allow him to refashion the degenerate Western civilization. His extremist views re-emerged in the 1990s when they proved interesting to right-wing politicians, and in a bizarre twist, jihadist Islamists now laud his criticisms of the West.

By the author of the acclaimed bestseller "Benjamin Franklin," this is the first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available.

How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.

Based on newly released personal letters of Einstein, this book explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk -- a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate -- became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals.

These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.

This book chronicles the life and work of the late Arthur Kornberg, one of the premier biochemists in the world, who discovered the enzyme DNA polymerase, a key enzyme required for the biosynthesis of DNA.The book provides readers with a view of the personality and character of one of the great biochemists of the late 20th century, as well as insights into the origin and growth of the discipline of nucleic acid biochemistry, especially the biosynthesis of DNA.The book consists of 17 chapters that trace the life and work of Arthur Kornberg.

Following his blockbuster biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson’s New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed The Innovators is a “riveting, propulsive, and at times deeply moving” (The Atlantic) story of the people who created the computer and the internet.

What were the talents that allowed certain inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their visionary ideas into disruptive realities? What led to their creative leaps? Why did some succeed and others fail?

The Innovators is a masterly saga of collaborative genius destined to be the standard history of the digital revolution—and an indispensable guide to how innovation really happens. Isaacson begins the adventure with Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron’s daughter, who pioneered computer programming in the 1840s. He explores the fascinating personalities that created our current digital revolution, such as Vannevar Bush, Alan Turing, John von Neumann, J.C.R. Licklider, Doug Engelbart, Robert Noyce, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, Tim Berners-Lee, and Larry Page.

This is the story of how their minds worked and what made them so inventive. It’s also a narrative of how their ability to collaborate and master the art of teamwork made them even more creative. For an era that seeks to foster innovation, creativity, and teamwork, The Innovators is “a sweeping and surprisingly tenderhearted history of the digital age” (The New York Times).

In 1898, a 19-year-old girl marched into the Natural History Museum and demanded a job. At the time, no women were employed there as scientists, but for the determined Dorothea Bate this was the first step in an extraordinary career as a pioneering explorer and fossil-hunter and the beginning of an association with the Museum that was to last for more than 50 years. As a young woman in the early 1900s she explored the islands of Cyprus, Crete and the little known Majorca and Menorca, braving parental opposition and considerable physical hardship and danger. In remote mountain caves and sea-battered cliffs, she discovered, against enormous odds, the fossil evidence of unique species of extinct fauna, previously unknown to science, including dwarf elephants and hippos, giant dormice and a strange small goat-like antelope. Thirty years later in Bethlehem, she excavated against a backdrop of violence and under the shadow of war. By the end of her life Dorothea had earned an international reputation as an expert in her field. 'Discovering Dorothea' captures the indomitable spirit of a woman who, against social pressure and in the face of physical hardship, devoted her life to discovery and deepened our knowledge of the natural world.

This book chronicles the life and work of the late Arthur Kornberg, one of the premier biochemists in the world, who discovered the enzyme DNA polymerase, a key enzyme required for the biosynthesis of DNA.The book provides readers with a view of the personality and character of one of the great biochemists of the late 20th century, as well as insights into the origin and growth of the discipline of nucleic acid biochemistry, especially the biosynthesis of DNA.The book consists of 17 chapters that trace the life and work of Arthur Kornberg.