'Our childhood came to an end when our parents parted and from then on Jennifer was placed in the impossible position of having to be a parent to me, her sister. I shall always be grateful for her protection . . .' Millions have fallen in love with Jennifer Worth and her experiences in the East End as chronicled in Call the Midwife, but little is known about her life outside this period. Now, in this moving and evocative memoir, Jennifer's sister Christine takes us from their early idyllic years to the cruelty and neglect they suffered after their parents divorced, from Jennifer being forced to leave home at fourteen to their training as nurses. After leaving nursing Jennifer took up a career in music, her first love, and Christine became a sculptor, but through marriages and children, joy and heartbreak, their lives remained intertwined. Absorbing and emotional, The Midwife's Sister by Christine Lee is testimony to an enduring bond between two extraordinary women.

Book of the Year in The Economist, Guardian, New Statesman, Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize & the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography. 'A wonderful book about one of the most important, brilliant and flawed scientists of the 20th century.' Peter Frankopan 'Superb' Matt Ridley, The Times 'Fascinating... The best Haldane biography yet.' New York Times J.B.S. Haldane's life was rich and strange, never short on genius, never lacking for drama. He is best remembered as a geneticist who revolutionized our understanding of evolution, but his peers thought him a polymath; one student called him 'the last man who knew all there was to be known'. Beginning in the 1930s, Haldane was also a staunch Communist - a stance that enhanced his public profile, led him into trouble, and even drew suspicions that he was spying for the Soviets. He wrote copiously on science and politics for the layman, in newspapers and magazines, and he gave speeches in town halls and on the radio, all of which made him, in his day, as famous in Britain as Einstein. Arthur C. Clarke called Haldane 'the most brilliant science popularizer of his generation'. He frequently narrated aspects of his life: of his childhood, as the son of a famous scientist; of his time in the trenches in the First World War and in Spain during the Civil War; of his experiments upon himself; of his secret research for the British Admiralty; of his final move to India, in 1957. A Dominant Character unpacks Haldane's boisterous life in detail, and it examines the questions he raised about the intersections of genetics and politics - questions that resonate all the more strongly today.

Life and death in a modern hospital, from Seamus O'Mahony, the award-winning author of The Way We Die Now and Can Medicine Be Cured? Seamus O'Mahony charts the realities of work in the 'ministry of bodies', that huge complex where people come to be cured and to die. From unexpected deaths to moral quandaries and bureaucratic disasters, O'Mahony documents life in the halls and wards that all of us will visit at some point in our lives with his characteristic wit and dry and unsentimental intelligence. Absurd general emails, vain and self-promoting specialists, the relentless parade of self-destructive drinkers and drug users, the comical expectations of baffled patients: this is not a conventional medical memoir, but the collective biography of one of our great modern institutions - the general hospital - through the eyes of a brilliant writer, who happens to be a doctor.

An autobiography of a ground-breaking medical doctor. Dr. David A. Hamburg started as a medical student with interest in stress disorders, paying special attention to the propensity toward violence, including the evolution of human aggression. This lead him on a path to becoming one of the most highly celebrated doctors in America - he was a member of President Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian award of the United States). Most recently, he chaired committees at the United Nations and European Union on the prevention of genocide. This book will be inspirational for emerging scientists today.

An autobiography of a ground-breaking medical doctor. Dr. David A. Hamburg started as a medical student with interest in stress disorders, paying special attention to the propensity toward violence, including the evolution of human aggression. This lead him on a path to becoming one of the most highly celebrated doctors in America - he was a member of President Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian award of the United States). Most recently, he chaired committees at the United Nations and European Union on the prevention of genocide. This book will be inspirational for emerging scientists today.

Charles Darwin is well-known throughout the world for his revolutionary work from 1859; The Origin of Species, the foundational study of evolution which greatly challenged the near-universal belief in the Christian world, at that time, of creationism. Originally published in 1928, Dorsey attempts to provide a detailed account of the scientist's life and personality informed by letters, published works and an autobiography written by Darwin. Darwin's life was full of challenges both in his personal life as well as his career and The Evolution of Charles Darwin explores all aspects of his life from birth to death emphasising the great impact his work had in the scientific community and humanity as a whole.

'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.

She was everything everyone else wanted her to be. Until she followed her own path. Helena Rho was six years old when her family left Seoul, Korea, for America and its opportunities. Years later, her Korean-ness behind her, Helena had everything a model minority was supposed to want: she was married to a white American doctor and had a beautiful home, two children, and a career as an assistant professor of pediatrics. For decades she fulfilled the expectations of others. All the while Helena kept silent about the traumas-both professional and personal-that left her anxious yet determined to escape. It would take a catastrophic event for Helena to abandon her career at the age of forty, recover her Korean identity, and set in motion a journey of self-discovery. In her powerful and moving memoir, Helena Rho reveals the courage it took to break away from the path that was laid out for her, to assert her presence, and to discover the freedom and joy of finally being herself.

Elisabeth Roudinesco offers a bold and modern reinterpretation of the iconic founder of psychoanalysis. Based on new archival sources, this is Freud's biography for the twenty-first century-a critical appraisal, at once sympathetic and impartial, of a genius greatly admired and yet greatly misunderstood in his own time and in ours. Roudinesco traces Freud's life from his upbringing as the eldest of eight siblings in a prosperous Jewish-Austrian household to his final days in London, a refugee of the Nazis' annexation of his homeland. She recreates the milieu of fin de siecle Vienna in the waning days of the Habsburg Empire-an era of extraordinary artistic innovation, given luster by such luminaries as Gustav Klimt, Stefan Zweig, and Gustav Mahler. In the midst of it all, at the modest residence of Berggasse 19, Freud pursued his clinical investigation of nervous disorders, blazing a path into the unplumbed recesses of human consciousness and desire. Yet this revolutionary who was overthrowing cherished notions of human rationality and sexuality was, in his politics and personal habits, in many ways conservative, Roudinesco shows. In his chauvinistic attitudes toward women, and in his stubborn refusal to acknowledge the growing threat of Hitler until it was nearly too late, even the analytically-minded Freud had his blind spots. Alert to his intellectual complexity-the numerous tensions in his character and thought that remained unresolved-Roudinesco ultimately views Freud less as a scientific thinker than as the master interpreter of civilization and culture.

This book resurrects the Franz Alexanderian legacy, reminding his behemoth contributions and offers the reader with a deeply tender and touching portrait. It also considers his personal and professional life, the role of family in his decisions, and how those decisions affected other family members.

This book is about the life and work of a Turkish-American social scientist, Muzafer Sherif (1905-1988). He was known for his seminal work on norm and group formations, social judgment, and intergroup conflicts and cooperation. Although Sherif is identified as one of the founders of social psychology, his contribution to the science of psychology goes beyond the limits of social psychology as it is generally defined today. This volume aims to rediscover the theory and research of its subject in the socio-historical context of his time, as well as his relevance for contemporary psychology. Chapters cover a range of topics: an in-depth portrayal of Sherif's life and intellectual struggle in Turkey and in the United States; his metatheoretical considerations on the science of psychology; his theory and research on group and intergroup relationships, social norms and social change; formation and change of frames of reference, ego- involvements and identity; and psychology of slogans. Sherif had profound life experiences in different cultural contexts from the Ottoman Empire and World War I to American universities, which enabled him to see the essentiality of the historico-cultural context in the formation of human phenomena. Sherif's psychology is an elegant exemplar of an integrative science of psychology that is worth rediscovering.

'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.

Through Francesco Bianchini, the 'greatest Italian of his time' this book explores the exciting meeting of science, history, and politics in early modern Europe. Born in a time where entry into the church granted power, privilege, and access to the most exciting ideas of his time, the magnificent Monsignor Francesco Bianchini was an accomplished player in the political, scientific, and historical arenas of early modern Europe. Among his accomplishments were writing a universal history from the creation to the fall of Assyria; discovering, excavating, and interpreting ancient buildings; and designing a papal collection of antiquities that was later partially realized in the Vatican museums. He was also responsible for confirming and publicizing Newton's theories of light and color; discovering several comets; and building the most beautiful and exact heliometer in the world in the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome. Bianchini's international reputation earned him election to the Academie royale des sciences of Paris and the Royal Society of London. As a trusted servant of Pope Clement XI, he helped to execute the difficult balancing act the papacy practiced during the War of the Spanish Succession, which pitted Britain, the Dutch Republic, and the Habsburg Empire against France and Spain. One of his assignments also resulted in attachment to the cause and person of the Old Pretender, James III, the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Through the career of this eminent and adept diplomat, astronomer, archaeologist, and historian, J. L. Heilbron introduces a world of learning and discovery, Church and State, and politics and power.

For fans of One Born Every Minute. The Secret Midwife is a heart-breaking, engrossing and important read. At once joyful and profoundly shocking, this is the story of birth, straight from the delivery room. Strongest supporter, best friend, expert, cheerleader and chief photographer . . . Before, during and after labour the role of a midwife is second to none. The Secret Midwife reveals the highs and lows on the frontline of the maternity unit, from the mother who tries to give herself a DIY caesarean to the baby born into witness protection, and from surprise infants that arrive down toilets to ones that turn up in the lift. But there is a problem; the system which is supposed to support the midwives and the women they care for is starting to crumble. Short-staffed, over worked and underappreciated - these crippling conditions are taking their toll on the dedicated staff doing their utmost to uphold our National Health Service, and the consequences are very serious indeed.

Spinster Mary Anning, uneducated and poor, was of the wrong sex, wrong class and wrong religion, but fate decreed that she was exactly the right person in the right place and time to pioneer the emerging science of palaeontology, the study of fossils. Born in Lyme Regis in 1799, Mary learned to collect fossils with her cabinet-maker father. The unstable cliffs and stealthy sea made the task dangerous but after her father died the sale of fossils sustained her family. Mary's fame started as an infant when she survived a lightning strike that killed the three adults around her. Then, aged twelve, she caught the public's attention when she unearthed the skeleton of a 'fish lizard' or Ichthyosaurus. She later found the first Plesiosaurus giganteus, with its extraordinary long neck associated with the Loch Ness monster, and, dramatically, she unearthed the first, still rare, Dimorphodon macronyx, a frightening 'flying dragon' with hand claws and teeth. Yet her many discoveries were announced to the world by male geologists like the irrepressible William Buckland and Sir Henry De La Beche and they often received the credit. In Jurassic Mary Patricia Pierce redresses this imbalance, bringing to life the extraordinary, little-known story of this determined and pioneering woman.

This book details the lives of two married geniuses, Aden and Marjorie Meinel, who helped to pioneer modern optics and solar energy in the U.S. Aden B. Meinel and Marjorie P. Meinel stood at the confluence of several overarching technological developments during their lifetimes, including postwar aerial surveillance by spy planes and satellites, solar energy, the evolution of telescope design, interdisciplinary optics, and photonics. Yet, their incredible stories and their long list of scientific contributions have never been adequately recognized in one place. In this book, James Breckinridge and Alec M. Pridgeon correct this oversight by sharing the story of this powerful duo. The book follows their lives and covers large scientific developments between World War II to the Cold War. James B. Breckinridge, a previous advisee and later colleague to the Meinels, and historian and scientist Alec M. Pridgeon collected more than 200 hours of oral interviews with those who worked closely with the Meinels and some who built their careers around the findings made possible by their work. The book shares and analyzes the work done by the Meinels, and it also includes incredible insights from an unpublished Meinel autobiography.

This title reveals a shy yet passionate woman more at home in the natural world than in the literary one that embraced her. Souder also writes sensitively of Carson's romantic friendship with Dorothy Freeman, and of her death from cancer in 1964. This biography captures the essence of one of the great reformers of the 20th century.

With a foreword by Bill Bryson 'Compelling . . . moving and often startlingly visceral' Times Literary Supplement 'Horrifying. But, in the end, inspiring.' William Leith, London Evening Standard 'A wonderful meditation on the human condition and a testament to the power of love' Max Pemberton, columnist and author of Trust Me, I'm a (Junior) Doctor 'As gripping as a thriller' Daily Express * * * At the age of 38, Rikke Schmidt Kjaergaard, a Danish scientist, wife and mother of three, is struck down by an acute bout of bacterial meningitis. She awakes from a coma in intensive care to find herself completely paralysed, unable to show she is conscious except by blinking her eye. It becomes her only form of communication as in the months that follow, Kjaergaard's husband Peter sits beside her helping to interpret every eye movement. She struggles with every basic of life - painfully learning how to breathe, move, eat and speak again. Despite being given a five per cent chance of survival, she works intensively to recover and achieve every small breakthrough. The Blink of an Eye is a celebration of love and family and every little thing that matters when life is in the balance - written by a scientist uniquely able to describe her physical and mental journey to recovery.

A treasure trove of illuminating and entertaining quotations from the legendary naturalist Here is Charles Darwin in his own words--the naturalist, traveler, scientific thinker, and controversial author of On the Origin of Species, the book that shook the Victorian world. Featuring hundreds of quotations carefully selected by world-renowned Darwin biographer Janet Browne, The Quotable Darwin draws from Darwin's writings, letters to friends and family, autobiographical reminiscences, and private scientific notebooks. It offers a multifaceted portrait that takes readers through his youth, the famous voyage of the Beagle, the development of his thoughts about evolution, his gradual loss of religious faith, and the time spent turning his ideas into a well-articulated theory about the natural origin of all living beings--a theory that dangerously included the origin of humans. The Quotable Darwin also includes many of the key responses to Darwin's ideas from figures across the social spectrum, scientists and nonscientists alike--and criticism too. We see Darwin as an innovative botanist and geologist, an affectionate husband and father, and a lively correspondent who once told his cousin that he liked to play billiards because "it drives the horrid species out of my head." This book gives us an intimate look at Darwin at work, at home, as a public figure, and on his travels. Complete with a chronology of Darwin's life by Browne, The Quotable Darwin provides an engagingly fresh perspective on a remarkable man who was always thinking deeply about the natural world.

An award-winning memoir and instant "New York Times" bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, "Brain on Fire" is the powerful account of one woman's struggle to recapture her identity.
When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she'd gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?
In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family's inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn't happen. "A fascinating look at the disease that . . . could have cost this vibrant, vital young woman her life" ("People"), "Brain on Fire" is an unforgettable exploration of memory and identity, faith and love, and a profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance that is destined to become a classic.

Thoroughly revised and expanded from the 2012 edition (twice the number of pages, almost double the number of illustrations) this book pays tribute to the man and his diverse works and achievements. James Hutton (1726-1797) was one of the first environmentalists, a man ahead of his time. He developed a grand theory of the Earth in which he tried to make sense of a lifetime of observation and deduction about the way in which our planet functions. For example, he connected temperature with latitude. His measurements, with rudimentary thermometers, of temperature changes between the base and summit of Arthur's Seat, were remarkably accurate and he studied climate data from other parts of the world. A leading figure in the eighteenth-century Scottish Enlightenment, he was also an innovative farmer, successful entrepreneur and a man with endless intellectual curiosity. The year 2026 will be the tercentenary of his birth. There will be many special events leading up to and in that year organised by The James Hutton Institute, Scotland's premier environmental and agricultural research organisation.

This book strips away the myths surrounding the famed scientist George Washington Carver and portrays him as a brilliant, creative man who nonetheless possessed very human peculiarities and frailties. This insightful work chronicles the life of George Washington Carver, the renowned African American scientist and teacher. George Washington Carver: A Biography begins with a discussion of the political and social circumstances in Missouri where Carver was born into slavery, circa 1864. Readers will follow Carver through his formal education to his decision to accept Booker T. Washington's offer to teach and do research at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The bulk of the volume focuses on Carver's career at Tuskegee, a career that spanned nearly five decades, from 1896 until Carver's death in January 1943.The book highlights Carver's major achievements, including his championing of crop rotation and the hundreds of products he created from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other plants native to the South. In addition to Carver the scientist, students will meet Carver the man, who, for example, loved art and painted throughout his life. A dozen black-and-white photographs that help document the life of George Washington Carver A "Selected Bibliography" of sources most useful in understanding the life of George Washington Carver