In this intriguing, insightful and extremely educational novel, the world's most famous hacker teaches you easy cloaking and counter-measures for citizens and consumers in the age of Big Brother and Big Data (Frank W. Abagnale). Kevin Mitnick was the most elusive computer break-in artist in history. He accessed computers and networks at the world's biggest companies -- and no matter how fast the authorities were, Mitnick was faster, sprinting through phone switches, computer systems, and cellular networks. As the FBI's net finally began to tighten, Mitnick went on the run, engaging in an increasingly sophisticated game of hide-and-seek that escalated through false identities, a host of cities, and plenty of close shaves, to an ultimate showdown with the Feds, who would stop at nothing to bring him down. Ghost in the Wires is a thrilling true story of intrigue, suspense, and unbelievable escapes -- and a portrait of a visionary who forced the authorities to rethink the way they pursued him, and forced companies to rethink the way they protect their most sensitive information. Mitnick manages to make breaking computer code sound as action-packed as robbing a bank. -- NPR

No one is better poised to write the biography of James Herriot than the son who worked alongside him in the Yorkshire veterinary practice when Herriot became an internationally bestselling author. Now, in this warm and poignant biography, Jim Wight ventures beyond his father's life as a veterinarian to reveal the man behind the stories--the private individual who refused to allow fame and wealth to interfere with his practice or his family. With access to all of his father's papers, correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs--and intimate recollections of the farmers, locals, and friends who populate the James Herriot books--only Jim Wight could write this definitive biography of the man who was not only his father but his best friend.

"Pleasure of imagination. . . . I a geologist have illdefined notion of land covered with ocean, former animals, slow force cracking surface &c truly poetical." from Charles Darwin's Notebook M, 1838

The early nineteenth century was a golden age for the study of geology. New discoveries in the field were greeted with the same enthusiasm reserved today for advances in the biomedical sciences. In her long-awaited account of Charles Darwin's intellectual development, Sandra Herbert focuses on his geological training, research, and thought, asking both how geology influenced Darwin and how Darwin influenced the science. Elegantly written, extensively illustrated, and informed by the author's prodigious research in Darwin's papers and in the nineteenth-century history of earth sciences, Charles Darwin, Geologist provides a fresh perspective on the life and accomplishments of this exemplary thinker.

As Herbert reveals, Darwin's great ambition as a young scientist one he only partially realized was to create a "simple" geology based on movements of the earth's crust. (Only one part of his scheme has survived in close to the form in which he imagined it: a theory explaining the structure and distribution of coral reefs.) Darwin collected geological specimens and took extensive notes on geology during all of his travels. His grand adventure as a geologist took place during the circumnavigation of the earth by H.M.S. Beagle (1831 1836) the same voyage that informed his magnum opus, On the Origin of Species.

Upon his return to England it was his geological findings that first excited scientific and public opinion. Geologists, including Darwin's former teachers, proved a receptive audience, the British government sponsored publication of his research, and the general public welcomed his discoveries about the earth's crust. Because of ill health, Darwin's years as a geological traveler ended much too soon: his last major geological fieldwork took place in Wales when he was only thirty-three. However, the experience had been transformative: the methods and hypotheses of Victorian-era geology, Herbert suggests, profoundly shaped Darwin's mind and his scientific methods as he worked toward a full-blown understanding of evolution and natural selection."

A translation of selected non-English texts included in Volume 16 is available in paperback. Since this supplementary paperback includes only select portions of Volume 16, it is not recommended for purchase without the main volume. Every document in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein appears in the language in which it was written, and this supplementary paperback volume presents the English translations of select portions of non-English materials in Volume 16. This translation does not include notes or annotations of the documentary volume and is not intended for use without the original language documentary edition, which provides the extensive editorial commentary necessary for a full historical and scientific understanding of the documents.

A whole chapter of nineteenth-century history is condensed in the phrase "the conflict between religion and science," with our Mother Eve and the proto-Ape jostling for places at the head of the family tree. An outstanding figure in the center of this intellectual conflict was John William Draper, author of History of the Intellectual Development of Modern Europe and The Conflict Between Religion and Science, which played an important part in intellectual debates for many years. Draper helped break new ground for an age of science, and brought to the level of laymen some of the issues with which they must grapple in the future. However, he had the gift of the great popularizer for seeming to leaven the loaf of tradition, instead of throwing it away, and succeeded in lending to new ideas the appearance of old ones. His work is an excellent case history of the way in which innovations are knit up into continuity with tradition and revolutions in thought are made palatable.

In January 2020, leading epidemiologist Professor Mark Woolhouse learned of a new virus taking hold in China. He immediately foresaw a hard road ahead for the entire world, and emailed the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland warning that the UK should urgently begin preparations. A few days later he received a polite reply stating only that everything was under control. In this astonishing account, Mark Woolhouse shares his story as an insider, having served on advisory groups to both the Scottish and UK governments. He reveals the disregarded advice, frustration of dealing with politicians, and the missteps that led to the deaths of vulnerable people, damage to livelihoods and the disruption of education. He explains the follies of lockdown and sets out the alternatives. Finally, he warns that when the next pandemic comes, we must not dither and we must not panic; never again should we make a global crisis even worse. The Year the World Went Mad puts our recent, devastating, history in a completely new light.

In An Appetite for Wonder Richard Dawkins brought us his engaging memoir of the first 35 years of his life from early childhood in Africa to publication of The Selfish Gene in 1976, when he shot to fame as one of the most exciting new scientists of his generation. In Brief Candle in the Dark he continues his autobiography, following the threads that have run through the second half of his life so far and homing in on the key individuals, institutions and ideas that inspired and motivated him. He paints a vivid picture, coloured with wit, anecdote and digression, of the twenty-five postgraduate years he spent teaching at Oxford. He pays affectionate tribute to past colleagues and students, recalling the idiosyncrasies of an establishment steeped in ancient tradition and arcane ritual while also recording his respect for the profound commitment to learning and discovery that lies at its core. He invites us to share the life of a travelling scientist, from fieldwork on the Panama Canal to conferences of stratospheric eminence in exotic locations in the company of some of the most prominent of the world's scientific luminaries. And he describes his experiences with his many publishers, television producers, interviewers and partners in debate, not least in the heady period when, after publication of The God Delusion in 2006, he is dubbed the world's most outspoken and controversial atheist. Most important of all, for the first time he reviews with fresh and stimulating insights the evolving narrative of his ideas about science over the course of his highly distinguished career as thinker, teacher and writer. In Brief Candle in the Dark we are invited to enter with him a constantly stimulating world of discovery and to meet a fascinating cast of exceptional characters described by the talented pen of one of the most exceptional of them all.

Inspired by the life and times of Alexander von Humboldt, 1769-1859 , this biography follows Humboldt, who is considered the father of the Natural Sciences and in his day was as well known as Napoleon, and traces his childhood in what was then Prussia, his education at various Universities his training as a mining engineer and how he progressed into the sciences. Duringing the Age of Enlightenment, Humboldts journey to South America between 1799 and 1804 with Aime Bonpland, changed the course of both their lives and during this period of exploration, they sent back to Paris and Berlin some 6000 samples of new species, minerals and animals. En route the scientists collected a mass of detailed information - cartographical, geological, astronomical, botanical, anthropological and linguistic - that took a life time to decipher.

A poor uneducated mill worker in his youth, whose driving passion was the study of astronomy, John Brashear lived to be designated "first citizen of Pennsylvania" for his scientific and philanthropic accomplishments, honored not only in his native Pittsburgh but by scientists all over the world. This is a biography of Brashear, the instrument maker and educator, whose life was one of genuinely inspiring achievement and service.

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.

The definitive work on the philosophical nature and impact of the theories of Charles Darwin, written by a well-known authority on the history and philosophy of Darwinism.
Broadly explores the theories of Charles Darwin and Darwin studies
Incorporates much information about modern Biology
Offers a comprehensive discussion of Darwinism and Christianity - including Creationism - by one of the leading authorities in the field
Written in clear, concise, user-friendly language supplemented with quality illustrations
Examines the status of evolutionary theory as a genuine theory and its implications for philosophy, epistemology and ethics
Provides a strong understanding of the philosophical nature and impact of Darwin's thought
Holds wide appeal for general audiences outside the world of academic philosophy
Strongly supports Darwinism and fully explores modern naturalistic explanations of religion

A wonderful novel and perfect book club choice, The Right Stuff is a wildly vivid and entertaining chronicle of America's early space programme. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY US ASTRONAUT SCOTT KELLY 'What is it,' asks Tom Wolfe, 'that makes a man willing to sit on top of an enormous Roman Candle...and wait for someone to light the fuse?' Arrogance? Stupidity? Courage? Or, simply, that quality we call 'the right stuff'? A monument to the men who battled to beat the Russians into space, The Right Stuff is a voyage into the mythology of the American space programme, and a dizzying dive into the sweat, fear, beauty and danger of being on the white-hot edge of history in the making. 'Tom Wolfe at his very best... Learned, cheeky, risky, touching, tough, compassionate, nostalgic, worshipful, jingoistic...The Right Stuff is superb' New York Times Book Review

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.

At a time when science can seem complex and remote, it has a greater impact on our lives, and to the future of our planet, than ever before. It really matters that its discoveries and truths should be clearly and widely communicated. That its enemies, from the malicious to the muddled, the self-deluding to the selfinterested, be challenged and exposed. That science should be brought out of the laboratory, taken into the corridors of power and defended in the maelstrom of popular culture. No one does this better than Richard Dawkins.

In bringing together his forewords, afterwords and introductions to works by some of the leading thinkers of our age - Carl Sagan, Lawrence Krauss, Jacob Bronowski, Lewis Wolpert - and a selection of his reviews, both admiring and critical, of a wide range of scientific and other works, Books do Furnish a Life celebrates the writers who communicate the ideas of science and the natural world in both fiction and non-fiction. It celebrates the courage of those who write about their experiences of escaping religion and embracing rationality, of protecting the truths of science and analytical rigour against charlatanry and obfuscation.

It Started in a Cupboard begins with a discussion of happiness and what it means to the author. This is followed by sections on Calman's career in Clinical Medicine and Public health, then his life after medicine. There then follows a section on wider interests including the Arts and Health, Knowledge Libraries and Universities, People Pets and Places, God Faith and religion and My Scotland. There is then a final chapter on Conclusions on my own Happiness.

"I had never planned to become a savanna baboon when I grew up; instead, I had always assumed I would become a mountain gorilla," writes Robert Sapolsky in this witty and riveting chronicle of a scientist's coming-of-age in remote Africa.

An exhilarating account of Sapolsky's twenty-one-year study of a troop of rambunctious baboons in Kenya, A Primate's Memoir interweaves serious scientific observations with wry commentary about the challenges and pleasures of living in the wilds of the Serengeti -- for man and beast alike. Over two decades, Sapolsky survives culinary atrocities, gunpoint encounters, and a surreal kidnapping, while witnessing the encroachment of the tourist mentality on the farthest vestiges of unspoiled Africa. As he conducts unprecedented physiological research on wild primates, he becomes evermore enamored of his subjects -- unique and compelling characters in their own right -- and he returns to them summer after summer, until tragedy finally prevents him.

By turns hilarious and poignant, A Primate's Memoir is a magnum opus from one of our foremost science writers.

The official book behind the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley Alan Turing was the mathematician whose cipher-cracking transformed the Second World War. Taken on by British Intelligence in 1938, as a shy young Cambridge don, he combined brilliant logic with a flair for engineering. In 1940 his machines were breaking the Enigma-enciphered messages of Nazi Germany's air force. He then headed the penetration of the super-secure U-boat communications. But his vision went far beyond this achievement. Before the war he had invented the concept of the universal machine, and in 1945 he turned this into the first design for a digital computer. Turing's far-sighted plans for the digital era forged ahead into a vision for Artificial Intelligence. However, in 1952 his homosexuality rendered him a criminal and he was subjected to humiliating treatment. In 1954, aged 41, Alan Turing took his own life.

This book reevaluates the changes to chemistry that took place from 1660 to 1730 through a close study of the chymist Wilhelm Homberg (1653-1715) and the changing fortunes of his discipline at the Academie Royale des Sciences, France's official scientific body. By charting Homberg's remarkable life from Java to France's royal court, and his endeavor to create a comprehensive theory of chymistry (including alchemical transmutation), Lawrence M. Principe reveals the period's significance and reassesses its place in the broader sweep of the history of science. Principe, the leading authority on the subject, recounts how Homberg's radical vision promoted chymistry as the most powerful and reliable means of understanding the natural world. Homberg's work at the Academie and in collaboration with the future regent, Philippe II d'Orleans, as revealed by a wealth of newly uncovered documents, provides surprising new insights onto the broader changes chymistry underwent during and immediately after Homberg. A human, disciplinary, and institutional biography, The Transmutations of Chymistry significantly revises what was previously known about the contours of chymistry and scientific institutions in the early eighteenth century.