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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Science, technology & engineering
Written by his friend, the physician John Baron (1786-1851), this
laudatory biography of the 'father of immunology' did much to
enhance the reputation of Edward Jenner (1749-1823) upon its
publication in two volumes between 1827 and 1838. The work covers
Jenner's personal and professional life both before and after his
development of the vaccine for smallpox, as well as touching on the
vaccine's reception and use around the world. Thoroughly explaining
the history and facts of vaccination, Baron established himself as
an authority on the subject. Although criticised by some for its
unquestioning praise of Jenner's genius, the work is valuable for
its use of primary sources, drawing heavily on correspondence and
personal notes, excerpts of which appear throughout the text.
Volume 2, published in 1838, covers Jenner's later life and the
global reception of vaccination. The appendix lists the various
honours bestowed upon him.
"Adventures in Human Being, with its deft mix of the clinical and
the lyrical, is a triumph of the eloquent brain and the
compassionate heart."--Wall Street Journal We assume we know our
bodies intimately, but for many of us they remain uncharted
territory, an enigma of bone and muscle, neurons and synapses. How
many of us understand the way seizures affect the brain, how the
heart is connected to well-being, or the why the foot holds the key
to our humanity? In Adventures in Human Being, award-winning author
Gavin Francis leads readers on a journey into the hidden pathways
of the human body, offering a guide to its inner workings and a
celebration of its marvels. Drawing on his experiences as a
surgeon, ER specialist, and family physician, Francis blends
stories from the clinic with episodes from medical history,
philosophy, and literature to describe the body in sickness and in
health, in life and in death. When assessing a young woman with
paralysis of the face, Francis reflects on the age-old difficulty
artists have had in capturing human expression. A veteran of the
war in Iraq suffers a shoulder injury that Homer first described
three millennia ago in the Iliad. And when a gardener pricks her
finger on a dirty rose thorn, her case of bacterial blood poisoning
brings to mind the comatose sleeping beauties in the fairy tales we
learn as children. At its heart, Adventures in Human Being is a
meditation on what it means to be human. Poetic, eloquent, and
profoundly perceptive, this book will transform the way you view
your body.
Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937) was a physicist, chemist and Nobel
Prize winner renowned for his fundamental contributions to the
development of nuclear physics. Originally published in 1939, this
book contains a detailed biography of Rutherford punctuated with
numerous extracts from his papers, letters and other sources. As
noted in the preface, the text's aim was 'to hold up a mirror in
which Rutherford may reveal himself, just as he was, in lectures,
books, papers, speeches, portraits, letters, and casual talk.'
Illustrative figures and an appendix section are also included.
This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Rutherford
and his achievements.
During bacteriology's Golden Age (roughly 1870-1890) European
physicians focused on the role of bacteria as causal agents of
disease. Advances in microscopy and laboratory methodology -
including the ability to isolate and identify micro-organisms -
played critical roles. Robert Koch, the most well known of the
European researchers for his identification of anthrax,
tuberculosis and cholera, established in Germany the first teaching
laboratory for training physicians in the new methods. Bacteriology
was largely absent in early U.S. medical schools. Dozens of
American physicians-in-training enrolled in Koch's course in
Germany and many established bacteriology courses upon their
return. This book highlights those who became acknowledged leaders
in the field and whose work remains influential.
Originally published in 1936, this book deals with the first
writings of a medical nature known to be associated with any
English hospital and their mysterious author, Johannes de Mirfeld.
Hartley and Aldridge provide the original Latin text of all of
Mirfeld's works, along with an English translation on each facing
page. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in
medical history.
William Watson Cheyne (1852-1932), a surgeon by training and a
student of Joseph Lister, was a prominent British bacteriologist
who published 60 papers and 13 monographs from 1879 to 1927. A
proponent of the idea that bacteriology and medicine were
interdependent disciplines, he investigated the causes and
treatment of wound infections, tuberculosis, cholera, tetanus and
gangrene. In 1897, he organized an historical outline of 19th
century bacteriology in five landmark periods of discovery, each
defined by the work of an influential figure. This study documents
his contributions to the history of microbiology and describes his
activities as a laboratory investigator, clinician, surgeon,
translator, editor and educator.
Unicorns - companies that reach a valuation of more than $1 billion
- are rare. Uri Levine has built two. And in Fall in Love with the
Problem, Not the Solution, he shows you just how he did it. As the
cofounder of Waze - the world's leading commuting and navigation
app with more than 700 million users to date, and which Google
acquired in 2013 for $1.15 billion - Levine is committed to
spreading entrepreneurial thinking so that other founders,
managers, and employees in the tech space can build their own
highly valued companies. Levine offers an inside look at the
creation and sale of Waze and his second unicorn, Moovit, revealing
the formula that drove those companies to compete with industry
veterans and giants alike. He offers tips on: Raising funding
Firing and hiring Understanding your users Making up-scale
decisions Going global Deciding when to sell Fall in Love with the
Problem, Not the Solution offers mentorship in a book from one of
the world's most successful entrepreneurs, and empowers you to
build a successful business by identifying your consumers' biggest
problems and disrupting the inefficient markets that currently
serve them.
Active in fields spanning medicine, ornithology, zoology and even
watercolour painting, Frederick Dawtrey Drewitt (1848-1942) was a
prominent fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, exhibited at
the Royal Academy, and was involved in governing the National
Trust. His particular interest in birds led him to study the work
of the physician and naturalist Edward Jenner (1749-1823), who
contributed to the field of ornithology through his observations of
the cuckoo's behaviour. Jenner is better known, however, as the
'father of immunology' for pioneering the smallpox vaccination -
the word 'vaccine' comes from the Latin vacca (cow) as Jenner used
the cowpox virus to inoculate against smallpox infection in humans.
Drewitt had general readers in mind when he wrote about Jenner's
extraordinary life and growing worldwide recognition. The first
edition of this biography was published in 1931, and this enlarged
second edition appeared in 1933.
Mohamud Ege grew up in the heat and dust of northern Somalia, the
son of a family of nomads who were kept constantly on the move by
the need to find water and grazing for the camels and sheep which
were their only possessions. When Mohamud was five, his father was
killed by a snake. A wise uncle then suggested that Mohamud, alone
of his family, should go to school - a rare privilege in their
culture. To attend school, Mohamud had to sleep on a rush mat,
survive for long periods on nothing but pancakes and do his
homework by moonlight. The hardships did not prevent him from
discovering the joy of reading books and developing a keen appetite
for learning. By the time he was in his teens he was determined to
break free of the poverty of the nomad life and become a doctor in
the West. Thanks to hard work and help from his friends he managed
to qualify as one of Somalia's first doctors, but he had to battle
the strife and unrest of his native land, as well as prejudice and
red tape from those in authority, for more than twenty years before
he finally managed to qualify as a doctor in the UK. This is his
story.
"People like myself, who truly feel at home in several countries,
are not strictly at home anywhere," writes Abraham Pais, one of the
world's leading theoretical physicists, near the beginning of this
engrossing chronicle of his life on two continents. The author of
an immensely popular biography of Einstein, Subtle Is the Lord,
Pais writes engagingly for a general audience. His "tale" describes
his period of hiding in Nazi-occupied Holland (he ended the war in
a Gestapo prison) and his life in America, particularly at the
newly organized Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, then
directed by the brilliant and controversial physicist Robert
Oppenheimer. Pais tells fascinating stories about Oppenheimer,
Einstein, Bohr, Sakharov, Dirac, Heisenberg, and von Neumann, as
well as about nonscientists like Chaim Weizmann, George Kennan,
Erwin Panofsky, and Pablo Casals. His enthusiasm about science and
life in general pervades a book that is partly a memoir, partly a
travel commentary, and partly a history of science. Pais's charming
recollections of his years as a university student become somber
with the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. He was
presented with an unusual deadline for his graduate work: a German
decree that July 14, 1941, would be the final date on which Dutch
Jews could be granted a doctoral degree. Pais received the degree,
only to be forced into hiding from the Nazis in 1943, practically
next door to Anne Frank. After the war, he went to the Institute of
Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen to work with Niels Bohr. 1946
began his years at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he
worked first as a Fellow and then as a Professor until his move to
Rockefeller University in 1963. Combining his understanding of
disparate social and political worlds, Pais comments just as
insightfully on Oppenheimer's ordeals during the McCarthy era as he
does on his own and his European colleagues' struggles during World
War II. Originally published in 1997. The Princeton Legacy Library
uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available
previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of
Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original
texts of these important books while presenting them in durable
paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy
Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage
found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University
Press since its founding in 1905.
As world demand for electrical energy increases, it will be the
ingenuity and skill of brilliant electrochemists that enables us to
utilize the planet's mineral reserves responsibly. This
biographical dictionary profiles 85 electrochemists from 19 nations
who during the past 270 years have researched and developed ever
more efficient batteries and energy cells. Each entry traces the
subject's origin, education, discoveries and patents, as well as
hobbies and family life. The breakthroughs of early innovators are
cataloged and the work of living scientists and technicians is
brought up to date. An appendix provides a cross-referenced
timeline of innovation.
John Evelyn (1620 1706), intellectual, diarist, gardener and
founder member of the Royal Society, is best known for his Diary,
the great journal of his life and times, encompassing a momentous
period in British history. A lifelong collector of books, like his
contemporary Pepys, Evelyn amassed over 4,000 items in his library.
This work, originally published in 1664, was the first
English-language treatise on forestry. Intended for the gentry, it
aimed to encourage tree-planting after the ravages of the Civil War
and to ensure a supply of timber for Britain's fast-developing
navy. The first work sponsored officially by the Royal Society, it
was an offshoot of Evelyn's unpublished manuscript Elysium
Britannicum, a compendium of gardens and gardening. This is the
1908 two-volume reprint of the fourth edition, published in the
year of Evelyn's death. Volume 1 describes different species of
tree, deciduous and evergreen, and includes an introductory
biography of Evelyn by John Nisbet (1858 1914).
John Evelyn (1620 1706), intellectual, diarist, gardener and
founder member of the Royal Society, is best known for his Diary,
the great journal of his life and times, encompassing a momentous
period in British history. A lifelong collector of books, like his
contemporary Pepys, Evelyn amassed over 4,000 items in his library.
This work, originally published in 1664, was the first
English-language treatise on forestry. Intended for the gentry, it
aimed to encourage tree-planting after the ravages of the Civil War
and to ensure a supply of timber for Britain's fast-developing
navy. The first work sponsored officially by the Royal Society, it
was an offshoot of Evelyn's unpublished manuscript Elysium
Britannicum, a compendium of gardens and gardening. This is the
1908 two-volume reprint of the fourth edition, published in the
year of Evelyn's death. Volume 2 covers practical aspects of
forestry and the use of trees in landscaping.
Admired long after his death by the likes of Lord Rayleigh and
Einstein, Thomas Young (1773-1829) was the definition of a
polymath. By the age of fourteen he was proficient in thirteen
languages, including Greek, Hebrew and Persian. After studies in
Edinburgh, London, Goettingen and Cambridge he established himself
as a physician in London, and over the course of his life made
contributions to science, linguistics and music. He was the first
to prove that light is a wave rather than molecular, his
three-colour theory of vision was confirmed in the twentieth
century, and his work in deciphering the Rosetta Stone laid the
foundations for its eventual translation. Published in 1855, this
engaging biography drew on letters, journals and private papers,
taking the mathematician George Peacock (1791-1858) twenty years to
complete. It stands as a valuable and affectionate portrait of 'the
last man who knew everything'.
Originally published in 1931, this book formed part of The
Craftsman Series, which aimed to give secondary school age children
an insight into 'the development of constructive activities in the
sphere of material things'. James Nasmyth (1808 90) was a Scottish
engineer who made an integral contribution to the industrial
revolution through the invention of the steam hammer. The text is
comprised of extracts from the complete version of The
Autobiography of James Nasmyth (1883). These extracts offer an
engaging account of Nasmyth's life and work, beginning with his
early experiences and moving through his major achievements as an
engineer. An editorial preface, glossary and illustrative figures
are also included. This is a highly readable book that will be of
value to anyone with an interest in Nasmyth, mechanical engineering
and books for schools."
"The powerful origin story of one of Yellowstone's greatest and
most famous wolves." -Washington Post "[The Rise of Wolf 8] is a
goldmine for information on all aspects of wolf behavior and
clearly shows they are clever, smart, and emotional beings." -Marc
Bekoff, Psychology Today Yellowstone National Park was once home to
an abundance of wild wolves-but park rangers killed the last of
their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the rangers brought them
back, with the first wolves arriving from Canada in 1995. This is
the incredible true story of one of those wolves. Wolf 8 struggles
at first-he is smaller than the other pups, and often bullied-but
soon he bonds with an alpha female whose mate was shot. An
unusually young alpha male, barely a teenager in human years, Wolf
8 rises to the occasion, hunting skillfully, and even defending his
family from the wolf who killed his father. But soon he faces a new
opponent: his adopted son, who mates with a violent alpha female.
Can Wolf 8 protect his valley without harming his protege? Authored
by a renowned wolf researcher and gifted storyteller, The Rise of
Wolf 8 marks the beginning of The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone
series, which will transform our view of wolves forever.
A political and social reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) was also
a noted biographer in the Victorian period. Following the
engineer's death in 1848, Smiles published his highly successful
Life of George Stephenson in 1857 (also reissued in this series).
His interest in engineering evolved and he began working on
biographies of Britain's most notable engineers from the Roman to
the Victorian era. Originally published in three volumes between
1861 and 1862, this work contains detailed and lively accounts of
the educations, careers and pioneering work of seven of Britain's
most accomplished engineers. These volumes stand as a remarkable
undertaking, advancing not only the genre, but also the author's
belief in what hard work could achieve. Volume 1 charts the
engineering of early roads, embankments, bridges, harbours and
ferries, as well as the lives of the engineers Sir Hugh Myddelton
(c.1560-1631) and James Brindley (1716-72).
A political and social reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) was also
a noted biographer in the Victorian period. Following the
engineer's death in 1848, Smiles published his highly successful
Life of George Stephenson in 1857 (also reissued in this series).
His interest in engineering evolved and he began working on
biographies of Britain's most notable engineers from the Roman to
the Victorian era. Originally published in three volumes between
1861 and 1862, this work contains detailed and lively accounts of
the educations, careers and pioneering work of seven of Britain's
most accomplished engineers. These volumes stand as a remarkable
undertaking, advancing not only the genre, but also the author's
belief in what hard work could achieve. Volume 2 includes accounts
of the lives of three important engineers of the eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries: John Smeaton (1724-92), John Rennie
(1761-1821) and Thomas Telford (1757-1834).
A political and social reformer, Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) was also
a noted biographer in the Victorian period. Following the
engineer's death in 1848, Smiles published his highly successful
Life of George Stephenson in 1857 (also reissued in this series).
His interest in engineering evolved and he began working on
biographies of Britain's most notable engineers from the Roman to
the Victorian era. Originally published in three volumes between
1861 and 1862, this work contains detailed and lively accounts of
the educations, careers and pioneering work of seven of Britain's
most accomplished engineers. These volumes stand as a remarkable
undertaking, advancing not only the genre, but also the author's
belief in what hard work could achieve. Volume 3 includes a revised
version of Smiles's biography of George Stephenson (1781-1848), as
well as a biography of his equally famous son, Robert (1803-59).
Over his four-decade career, Sid Meier has produced some of the
world's most popular video games, including Sid Meier's
Civilization, which has sold more than 51 million units worldwide
and accumulated more than one billion hours of play. Sid Meier's
Memoir! is the story of an obsessive young computer enthusiast who
helped launch a multi-million-pound industry. Writing with warmth
and ironic humour, Meier describes the genesis of his influential
studio, MicroProse, founded in 1982 after a trip to a Las Vegas
arcade, and recounts the development of landmark games, from
vintage classics like Pirates! and Railroad Tycoon, to Civilization
and beyond. Articulating his philosophy that a videogame should be
"a series of interesting decisions", Meier also shares his
perspective on the history of the industry, the psychology of
gamers and fascinating insights into the creative process,
including his ten rules of good game design.
In the Age of Sail scurvy was responsible for more deaths at sea
than piracy, shipwreck and all other illnesses, and its cure ranks
among the greatest of military successes - yet its impact on
history has mostly been ignored. Stephen Bown searches back to the
earliest recorded appearance of scurvy in the sixteenth century, to
the eighteenth century when the disease was at its gum-shredding,
bone-snapping worst, and to the early nineteenth century, when the
preventative was finally put into service. Bown introduces us to
James Lind, the navy surgeon and medical detective, whose research
on the disease spawned the implementation of the cure; Captain
James Cook, who successfully avoided scurvy on his epic voyages;
and Gilbert Blane, whose social status and charisma won over the
British Navy. Scurvy is a lively recounting of how three determined
individuals overcame the constraints of eighteenth-century thinking
to solve the greatest medical mystery of their era.
Sir Oliver Lodge (1851 1940) was a physicist instrumental in the
discovery of electromagnetic waves: the basis of today's radio and
X-ray technology. He came from humble beginnings. After suffering
at the hands of violent masters and schoolmates during his
childhood, Lodge went on to teach physics and chemistry to young
women at Bedford College in London. Later, he was appointed
professor of physics at the University of Liverpool, and became
known for his public lectures on a vast range of topics, from the
comic faults of phonographs to the medical applications of X-rays.
Whether seeing the cells of a voltaic battery in a pile of plates
or appreciating the enunciation of Alexander Graham Bell, Lodge had
a warm enthusiasm that shines through in this touching
autobiography, first published in 1931. It remains ideal for
general readers as well as students in the history of science.
Sir Charles Tilston Bright (1832 88) was a renowned telegraph
engineer, best known for his role in laying the first successful
transatlantic cable in 1858, for which he was knighted. Bright
later worked on the telegraph networks that would span not only the
British Empire but the entire globe. Written by his brother Edward
Brailsford Bright (1831 1913) and son Charles (1863 1937), both
telegraph engineers who worked alongside him, this two-volume
biography, first published in 1898, would do much to cement
Bright's reputation as an electrical engineer, providing an insider
account of telegraphy's formative years. Volume 1 traces Bright's
career as an early employee of the world's first public telegraphy
company, the Electric Telegraph Company, and his work on land and
submarine cable telegraphy, culminating in the laying of the first
transatlantic telegraph cables in the mid-nineteenth century.
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