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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Science, technology & engineering
This biography traces the life and work of Mary Fairfax Somerville,
whose extraordinary mathematical talent only came to light through
fortuitous circumstances. Barely taught to read and write as a
child, all the science she learned and mastered was self taught. In
this delightful narrative the author takes up the challenge of
discovering how Somerville came to be one of the most outstanding
British women scientists and, furthermore, a popular writer.
Particular attention is paid to the gender aspects of Somerville's
success in what was, to put it mildly, a predominantly male domain.
This book examines the myriad identities and portrayals of Edith
Cavell, as they have been constructed and handed down by
propagandists, biographers and artists. Cavell was first introduced
to the British public through a series of Foreign Office statements
which claimed to establish the "facts" of her case. Her own voice,
along with those of her family, colleagues and friends, were muted,
as a monolithic image of a national heroine and martyr emerged. The
book identifies two main areas of tension in her commemoration:
firstly, the contrast between complexity of her own behaviour and
motivations and the simplicity of the "Cavell Legend" that was
constructed around her; and, secondly, the mismatch between the
attempts of individuals and professional organisations to
commemorate her life and work, and the public construction of a
"heroine" who could be of value to the nation state.
With over fifty patents to his name and innumerable awards and
accolades, James Lovelock was a distinguished and original thinker,
widely recognized by the international scientific community. In
this inspiring book, republished in the year of his 100th birthday,
Lovelock tells his life story, from his first steps as a scientist
to his work with organisations as diverse as NASA, Shell and the
Marine Biological Association. Homage to Gaia describes the years
of travel and work that led to his crucial scientific breakthroughs
in environmental awareness, uncovering how CFCs impact on the ozone
layer and creating the concept of Gaia, the theory that the Earth
is a self-regulating system. Written in a sharp and energetic
style, James Lovelock's book will entertain and inspire anyone
interested in science or the creative spirit beyond his legacy.
The English version of the book does not di?er essentially from the
Rus- 1 sian version . Along with a few notes and new references I
included Part II to Article 3 and added some new materials to the
'Nobel' autobiography. Furthermore, Article 7 (M. Cardona and W.
Marx "Vitaly L. Ginzburg - a bibliometricstudy"),
whichwaspublishedinJournalofSuperconductivityand NovelMagnetism,
v.19, No.3-5, July 2006 is included as an appendix. My special
thanks are due to Prof. Manuel Cardona and Prof. Werner Marx who
kindly allowed publishing their paper as an appendix to this book
(with some new minor author's amendments). Also, I am grateful to
M.S. Aksent'eva, E.A. Frimer, G.M. Krasnikova and
S.G.RudnevfortheirassistanceinthepreparationoftheEnglishmanuscript.
Moscow, September 2008 V.L.Ginzburg 1 V.L.Ginzburg,
Osverkhprovodimostiiosverkhtekuchesti.Avtobiogra?a (Moskva:
Izdatel'styvo Fiziko-matematicheskoi literatury, 2006) Preface to
the Russian Edition The Nobel Prize in Physics, 2003 was awarded to
A.A. Abrikosov, A.J. L- gett and myself 'for pioneering
contribution to the theory of superconductors and super?uids'. It
does not mean that the contribution was made in joint works with
these authors. Speci?cally, I do not have any joint publications
with A.A. Abrikosov and A.J. Leggett.
The Wide Open Door: My Conversation with God in the Operating Room
is an inspirational memoir by Dr. Neeraj Bhushan, a practicing
physician in Reston, Virginia. When Dr. Bhushan entered the
hospital as a patient for knee surgery, he was seized by a panic
attack that inspired the most desperate prayer of his life as he
lay on the operating table. As he begged God to help him, he heard
a voice of comfort, reassurance and love that led to his total
surrender to his fate, no matter what might be in store for him.
The moment Dr. Bhushan awoke after the surgery, he knew something
strange and wonderful had happened. The love he'd felt pouring into
him on the operating table continued to bubble in his
consciousness, even as he struggled to understand the miracle of
that voice. Had he really spoken to God? Why had God chosen to
speak to him? As a doctor, he knew the joint should be inflamed and
sore after the trauma of having three holes drilled in his knee.
But when he rose from his hospital bed a few hours later, he felt
no pain. None. He could walk without crutches. Why didn't his knee
hurt? As soon as he returned home, he unwrapped the bandage to make
sure he'd really had an operation.
Dr. Bhushan's journey of physical, emotional and spiritual healing
continued from that day forward. He never took any drugs, the
recovery was painless, and the healing was complete. In gratitude
for the extraordinary gift he received, he shares his story with
everyone. The love of God has filled his heart, and the more he
gives that love to others, the more joy he receives.
This book provides the first comprehensive, historically based,
philosophical interpretations of two texts of Thomas Percival's
professional ethics in medicine set in the context of his
intellectual biography. Preceded by his privately published and
circulated Medical Jurisprudence of 1794, Thomas Percival
(1740-1804) published Medical Ethics in 1803, the first book thus
titled in the global histories of medicine and medical ethics. From
his days as a student at the Warrington Academy and the medical
schools of the universities of Edinburgh and Leyden, Percival
steeped himself in the scientific method of Francis Bacon
(1561-1626). McCullough shows how Percival became a Baconian moral
scientist committed to Baconian deism and Dissent. Percival also
drew on and significantly expanded the work of his predecessor in
professional ethics in medicine, John Gregory (1724-1773). The
result is that Percival should be credited with co-inventing
professionalism in medicine with Gregory. To aid and encourage
future scholarship, this book brings together the first time three
essential Percival texts, Medical Jurisprudence, Medical Ethics,
and Extracts from the Medical Ethics of Dr. Percival of 1823, the
bridge from Medical Ethics to the 1847 Code of Medical Ethics on
the American Medical Association. To support comparative reading,
this book provides concordances of Medical Jurisprudence to Medical
Ethics and of Medical Ethics to Extracts. Finally, this book
includes the first Chronology of Percival's life and works.
Despite never graduating from university, Sir Archibald Geikie
(1835 1924) forged an exceptionally successful scientific career.
In 1855 he was appointed to the Scottish branch of the Geological
Survey, and by 1882 was Director General of the Survey. In keeping
with his Edinburgh beginnings, most of his career was spent
studying igneous rocks. He was a prolific and gifted writer,
producing textbooks, popular science books and biographical and
historical works, including the influential Founders of Geology
(1897), as well as numerous technical publications. The only
geologist to hold the post of President of The Royal Society (1908
12), he also served as President of the Geological Society of
London and the British Association, and received an array of
honorary degrees and medals. This autobiography, published in the
year of his death, provides a readable, personal account of the
life of one of the great scientific figures of the nineteenth
century.
Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) was a hugely influential chemist,
inventor, and public lecturer who is recognised as one of the first
professional scientists. His apprenticeship to an apothecary in
1795 led to his introduction to chemical experiments. A chance
meeting with Davis Giddy in 1798 introduced Davy into the wider
scientific community, and in 1800 he was invited to a post at the
Royal Institution, where he lectured to great acclaim. This
two-volume memoir was published by his brother, Dr John Davy, in
1836, in response to Paris' biography of 1831, authorised by Lady
Davy (also reissued in this series). John Davy had additional
papers in his possession, and felt that Paris had failed to convey
Sir Humphry's character as a man and philosopher. Volume 2
concentrates on his researches (including on the safety lamp) and
travels in Europe. It includes poetry, and also memorials of Davy
by friends.
On May 30, 2008, Nannette Jodar received a diagnosis of Stage 4
Inflammatory Breast Cancer. The disease had spread to her liver and
the surrounding lymph nodes, up to her thyroid. In the medical
field, this is a "worst of the worse" diagnosis, most likely ending
in death. With a broken heart and dwindled hope, Jodar began to
pray. Then, two weeks later, the timorous "hot spots" were gone.
Miracle or misdiagnosis?Her doctors would say miracle, as would
Jodar herself. The medical community was astounded by her
progress-so much so that they had no idea how to follow up.
Nannette Jodar has since been called a "Miracle Woman," and to this
day, she serves as a beacon of hope to other women suffering from
similar disease. "Being Held by God" is the story of her journey,
but it is not only a retelling: it is a reckoning.Jodar is healed,
and it was through her self-designed process of seeking the counsel
of an herbal doctor, changing her diet, prayer, and belief that she
was being guided towards her course of a cure. She now serves as an
advocate to those who desire to stay healthy or become healthy
through proactive love of their body-temples. Our lives are a
divine gift, and as soon as we see them as such, the healing can
begin.
William Whewell (1794-1866) was born the son of a Lancaster
carpenter, but his precocious intellect soon delivered him into a
different social sphere. Educated at a local grammar school, he won
a scholarship to Cambridge, and began his career at Trinity College
in 1812; he went on to be elected a fellow of Trinity in 1817 and
Master in 1841. An acquaintance of William Wordsworth and a friend
of Adam Sedgwick, his professional interests reflected a typically
nineteenth-century fusion of religion and science, ethics and
empiricism. Published in 1876, and written by the mathematician and
fellow of St John's College, Isaac Todhunter (1820-84), this
biography combines a narrative account of Whewell's life and
achievements with extracts taken from his personal correspondence.
Volume 1 covers his sermons and early poetry, as well as his work
on tides, moral philosophy and mechanics, and his celebrated study
of the inductive sciences.
William Whewell (1794-1866) was born the son of a Lancaster
carpenter, but his precocious intellect soon delivered him into a
different social sphere. Educated at a local grammar school, he won
a scholarship to Cambridge, and began his career at Trinity College
in 1812; he went on to be elected a fellow of Trinity in 1817 and
Master in 1841. An acquaintance of William Wordsworth and a friend
of Adam Sedgwick, his professional interests reflected a typically
nineteenth-century fusion of religion and science, ethics and
empiricism. Published in 1876, and written by the mathematician and
fellow of St John's College, Isaac Todhunter (1820-84), this
biography combines a narrative account of Whewell's life and
achievements with extracts taken from his personal correspondence.
Volume 2 contains a selection of his correspondence with scholars
including Herschel and Lyell, revealing much about the conflicts,
debates and friendships that shaped nineteenth-century academic
life.
Timed to coincide with the release of Walter Isaacson's latest
biography on the famous painter and inventor, as well as the latest
thriller in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code series, this book includes
101 in-depth facts about Leonardo Da Vinci. 101 Things You Didn't
Know About Da Vinci provides you with all the fascinating facts you
didn't know about the famous artist, inventor, and creator of the
Mona Lisa and the Vitruvian Man, including details about his
personal life, information about his inventions and art, his
interactions with his contemporaries, and his impact on the world
since his death. Some facts include: -Da Vinci was left handed, and
wrote from right to left, even writing his letters backwards. -Da
Vinci's The Last Supper started peeling off the wall almost
immediately upon completion, due to a combination of the type of
paint Leonardo used and the humidity -Among Leonardo's many
inventions and creations was a mechanical lion he created to
celebrate the coronation of King Francois I of France Whether
you're seeking inspiration, information, or interesting and
entertaining facts about history's most creative genius, 101 Things
You Didn't Know About Da Vinci has just what you're looking for!
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) was a British naturalist,
explorer, geographer and biologist, best remembered as the
co-discoverer, with Darwin, of natural selection. His extensive
fieldwork and advocacy of the theory of evolution led to him being
considered one of the nineteenth century's foremost biologists. He
was later moved by a variety of personal experiences to examine the
concept of spirituality, but his exploration into the potential for
compatibility between spiritualism and natural selection alienated
him from the scientific community. He was also a social activist,
highly critical of unjust social and economic systems in
nineteenth-century Britain, and one of the first prominent
scientists to express concern over the environmental impact of
human activity. This autobiography was first published in 1905.
Volume 2 deals with his many eminent acquaintances, including
Darwin and Huxley, his lecture tour in America, and his involvement
with spiritualism and with social activism.
During the 1950s, the United States and the Soviet Union teetered
on the brink of nuclear devastation. America's hope for national
security relied solely upon aerial reconnaissance. "Radar Man" is
the fascinating memoir of a physicist who, with his colleagues,
developed the stealth technology that eventually created
radar-invisible aircraft. Edward Lovick shares a compelling story
from the perspective of an enthusiastic scientist that highlights
his pioneering experiences in an innovative, secret world as he
helped create stealth aircraft such as the A-12 OXCART, SR-71
Blackbird, and F-117 Nighthawk. From the moment in 1957 when
Lockheed's famous aircraft designer Clarence L. 'Kelly' Johnson
invited Lovick to join his "Skunk Works," Lovick details how he
helped the CIA eventually perform vital, covert reconnaissance
flights over Soviet-held territory during the Cold War, saved
Lockheed ADP's A-12 from cancellation, and provided key design
input to the SR-71 and F-117. Lovick's autobiography describing his
career as an engineering physicist in the Skunk Works not only
draws attention to the insurmountable challenges that accompanied
the task of developing radar-invisible aircraft, but also the
importance of the monumental task these young scientists
fulfilled-all with the hope of creating a secure future for their
beloved country.
Sir David Brewster (1781 1868) was a Scottish physicist,
mathematician, astronomer, inventor, and writer of international
reputation. His biography of Sir Isaac Newton, published in 1855
and reissued in 1860, was the result of over twenty years'
research, undertaken while publishing hundreds of scientific papers
of his own. Brewster made use of previously unknown correspondence
by Newton, and his own scientific interests, particularly in
optics, meant that he was able to understand and explain Newton's
work. It covered the many facets of Newton's personality and work,
remaining the best available study of Newton for over a century.
Brewster reveals much about the science of his own time in his
handling of earlier centuries, and as a cleric was obviously
uncomfortable about the evidence of Newton's unorthodox religious
views and alchemical studies. Volume 2 covers the period from the
dispute with Leibniz to Newton's death, and considers his
posthumous reputation.
Memoir and Correspondence of Caroline Herschel (1876) contains the
letters and diaries of the celebrated astronomer Caroline Herschel
(1750-1848), edited by her niece, Mary Herschel. Caroline was born
in Hanover to a musician father and an illiterate mother who did
not want her daughter to be educated. However Caroline's brother
William, an organist employed in Bath, persuaded their mother to
allow Caroline to join him there. She left for England in 1772 to
live with William, to whom she remained devoted all of her life. In
Bath, William turned towards telescope-making and astronomy, to
such effect that in 1781 he discovered the planet Uranus. He was
appointed 'the King's astronomer' in 1782, and Caroline, trained by
William, continued to work at his side as a scientist in her own
right. Between them, they discovered eight comets and raised the
number of recorded nebulae from a hundred to 2500.
Sir David Brewster (1781 1868) was a Scottish physicist,
mathematician, astronomer, inventor, and writer of international
reputation. His biography of Sir Isaac Newton, published in 1855
and reissued in 1860, was the result of over twenty years'
research, undertaken while publishing hundreds of scientific papers
of his own. Brewster made use of previously unknown correspondence
by Newton, and his own scientific interests, particularly in
optics, meant that he was able to understand and explain Newton's
work. It covered the many facets of Newton's personality and work,
remaining the best available study of Newton for over a century.
Brewster reveals much about the science of his own time in his
handling of earlier centuries, and as a cleric was obviously
uncomfortable about the evidence of Newton's unorthodox religious
views and alchemical studies. Volume 1 covers the period up to
about 1700, and includes disputes with Leibniz over the development
of calculus.
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.
In 1857 Henry David Thoreau moved to a small cabin in the woods
near Walden Pond where he lived as a recluse from society for just
over two years. In his time of self-prescribed isolation, Thoreau
recorded his daily routine and reflections in an effort to get away
from the noise brought about by a mainstream society. His work
became one of the most influential American literary works of all
time. Thoreau's daily journal entries became the foundation for one
of the most well-known works of Transcendental philosophy to this
day. Published as one title, Walden is a quasi-memoir and
naturalist manifesto that has withstood the test of time. The work
continues to inspire generations to switch it up, unplug, and
revert to the higher calling of nature.
Collapsing from the grief of not being loved, twenty years old,
Clover Greene was committed to psychiatry. Just as after any horror
to horrible to be real, after four electric shocks, Greene
developed hysterical amnesia, vaguely remembering being locked up
by psychiatry. Psychiatry, America's Holocaust: The Twelve Steps
Curing Mental Illness, Developing the Nonviolent Adult Mind
chronicles author Clover Greene's journey back from the precipice
of suicidal and homicidal terror. It is a collection of Greene's
thoughts, original poetry, and helpful information designed to help
the reader to better understand the ups and downs of recovering
from mental illness. Over a period of time, Greene was recommitted
through psychiatry and forced to take drugs. Unable to escape to
the outside, Greene's suppressed feelings of confusion periodically
built up and exploded into suicidal and homicidal drug rages. Real
doctors in real hospitals saved Greene's life from suicide attempts
and the life-threatening physical damage caused by psychiatric
drugs. After thirty-one years under a psychiatrist's care, Greene
was incredibly still alive, saved by a twelvestep program and the
support of others in the same position.
In this memoir, Greene shares the harrowing account of escaping
psychiatry alive and being reborn in the spirit of love.
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