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Books > Biography > Science, technology & engineering
In this work, Carl Anthony shares his perspectives as an
African-American child in post-World War II Philadelphia; a student
and civil rights activist in 1960s Harlem; a traveling student of
West African architecture; and an architect, planner, and
environmental justice advocate in Berkeley. He contextualizes this
within American urbanism and human origins, making profoundly
personal both African American and American urban histories as well
as planetary origins and environmental issues, to not only bring a
new worldview to people of color, but to set forth a truly
inclusive vision of our shared planetary future. The Earth, the
City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race connects the logics behind
slavery, community disinvestment, and environmental exploitation to
address the most pressing issues of our time in a cohesive and
foundational manner. Most books dealing with these topics and
periods silo issues apart from one another, but this book
contextualizes the connections between social movements and issues,
providing tremendous insight into successful movement building.
Anthony's rich narrative describes both being at the mercy of
racism, urban disinvestment, and environmental injustice as well as
fighting against these forces with a variety of strategies. Because
this work is both a personal memoir and an exposition of ideas, it
will appeal to those who appreciate thoughtful and unique writing
on issues of race, including individuals exploring their own
African American identity, as well as progressive audiences of
organizations and community leaders and professionals interested in
democratizing power and advancing equitable policies for low-income
communities and historically disenfranchised communities.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel changed the world as we know it. He was
responsible for building the Great Western Railway main line,
introducing regular steamship travel across the Atlantic, building
the first tunnel under a major river, and constructing docks,
harbours and bridges that enabled Britain to expand and grow as the
powerhouse of the world. Without his foresight and imagination, it
is possible that nineteenth-century Britain might have been very
different. There have been many books written about the man
himself, but this book concentrates upon the structures, buildings
and legacy of Brunel, introducing the reader to this great engineer
and embarking upon a tour around Britain that reveals the many
locations with a Brunel connection.
How does it feel to confront a pandemic from the inside, one
patient at a time? To bridge the gulf between a perilously unwell
patient in quarantine and their distraught family outside? To be
uncertain whether the protective equipment you wear fits the
science or the size of the government stockpile? To strive your
utmost to maintain your humanity even while barricaded behind
visors and masks? Rachel is a palliative care doctor who looked
after the most gravely unwell patients on the Covid-19 wards of her
hospital. Amid the tensions, fatigue and rising death toll, she
witnessed the courage of patients and NHS staff alike in conditions
of unprecedented adversity. For all the bleakness and fear, she
found that moments that could stop you in your tracks abounded.
People who rose to their best, upon facing the worst, as a microbe
laid waste to the population. Her new book, Breathtaking, is an
unflinching insider's account of medicine in the time of
coronavirus. Drawing on testimony from nursing, acute and intensive
care colleagues - as well as, crucially, her patients - Clarke
argue that this age of contagion has inspired a profound
attentiveness to - and gratitude for - what matters most in life.
Audubon Park's journey from farmland to cityscape The study of
Audubon Park's origins, maturation, and disappearance is at root
the study of a rural society evolving into an urban community, an
examination of the relationship between people and the land they
inhabit. When John James Audubon bought fourteen acres of northern
Manhattan farmland in 1841, he set in motion a chain of events that
moved forward inexorably to the streetscape that emerged seven
decades later. The story of how that happened makes up the pages of
The Neighborhood Manhattan Forgot: Audubon Park and the Families
Who Shaped It. This fully illustrated history peels back the many
layers of a rural society evolving into an urban community,
enlivened by the people who propelled it forward: property owners,
tenants, laborers, and servants. The Neighborhood Manhattan Forgot
tells the intricate tale of how individual choices in the face of
family dysfunction, economic crises, technological developments,
and the myriad daily occurrences that elicit personal reflection
and change of course pushed Audubon Park forward to the cityscape
that distinguishes the neighborhood today. A longtime evangelist
for Manhattan's Audubon Park neighborhood, author Matthew Spady
delves deep into the lives of the two families most responsible
over time for the anomalous arrangement of today's streetscape: the
Audubons and the Grinnells. Buoyed by his extensive research, Spady
reveals the darker truth behind John James Audubon (1785-1851), a
towering patriarch who consumed the lives of his family members in
pursuit of his own goals. He then narrates how fifty years after
Audubon's death, George Bird Grinnell (1849-1938) and his siblings
found themselves the owners of extensive property that was not
yielding sufficient income to pay taxes, insurance, and
maintenance. Like the Audubons, they planned an exit strategy for
controlled change that would have an unexpected ending. Beginning
with the Audubons' return to America in 1839, The Neighborhood
Manhattan Forgot follows the many twists and turns of the area's
path from forest to city, ending in the twenty-first century with
the Audubon name re-purposed in today's historic district, a
multiethnic, multi-racial urban neighborhood far removed from the
homogeneous, Eurocentric Audubon Park suburb.
From Snow White to Moana, from Pinocchio to Frozen, the animated
films of Walt Disney Studios have moved and entertained millions.
But few fans know that behind these groundbreaking features was an
incredibly influential group of women who fought for respect in an
often ruthless male-dominated industry and who have slipped under
the radar for decades. In The Queens of Animation, bestselling
author Nathalia Holt tells their dramatic stories for the first
time, showing how these women infiltrated the boys' club of
Disney's story and animation departments and used early
technologies to create the rich artwork and unforgettable
narratives that have become part of the American canon. As the
influence of Walt Disney Studios grew---and while battling sexism,
domestic abuse, and workplace intimidation---these women also
fought to transform the way female characters are depicted to young
audiences. With gripping storytelling, and based on extensive
interviews and exclusive access to archival and personal documents,
The Queens of Animation reveals the vital contributions these women
made to Disney's Golden Age and their continued impact on animated
filmmaking, culminating in the record-shattering Frozen, Disney's
first female-directed full-length feature film.
Winner of the Elizabeth Longford prize for Historical Biography
'Engrossing' Claire Tomalin / 'Superb' Sunday Times / 'A triumph'
Daily Mail Whether honoured and admired or criticized and
ridiculed, Florence Nightingale has invariably been misrepresented
and misunderstood. As the Lady with the Lamp, ministering to the
wounded and dying of the Crimean War, she offers an enduring image
of sentimental appeal and one that is permanently lodged in our
national consciousness. But the awesome scale of her achievements
over the course of her 90 years is infinitely more troubling - and
inspiring - than this mythical simplification. From her tireless
campaigning and staggering intellectual abilities to her tortured
relationship with her sister and her distressing medical condition,
this vivid and immensely readable biography draws on a wealth of
unpublished material and previously unseen family papers,
disentangling the myth from the reality and reinvigorating with new
life one of the most iconic figures in modern British history.
'Enthralling' Guardian 'Excellent' Spectator 'Hugely readable'
Lancet 'Gripping and faultless' Observer, Books of the Year
'Remarkable. A subtle, scholarly and immensely readable portrait.
Scrupulous, thoughtful and clear-eyed. A masterly achievement'
Financial Times 'It will not be superseded for generations to come'
Sunday Telegraph
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His ideas turned the mathematical world on its head. As a
scientist he should be placed on the same level as Newton and
Einstein. This account of Euler's life and livings is embedded in
the great political developments of his time, particularly in
Austria, Prussia and Russia. The comic by Elena Pini
(illustrations) and Alice and Andreas K. Heyne (text) follows the
life of the genius from Basel, who, born 300 years ago, would set
out to change the scientific world. The book is completed by a
short biography of Euler and relevant data of the most important
politicians and contemporaries.
"For the decade of my father's illness, I felt as if I was floating
in the deep end, tossed by waves, carried by currents but not
drowning." In a singular account of battling Alzheimer's, Patti
Davis eloquently weaves personal anecdotes with practical advice
tailored specifically for the overlooked caregiver. After losing
her father, Ronald Reagan, Davis founded a support group for family
members and friends of Alzheimer's patients; drawing on those
years, Davis reveals the surprising struggles and gifts of this
cruel disease. From the challenges of navigating disorientation to
the moments when guilt and resentments creep in, readers are guided
gently through slow-burning grief. Along the way, Davis shares how
her own fractured family came together and how her father revealed
his true self-always kind, even when he couldn't recognise his own
daughter. The result is an achingly beautiful work on the fragile
human condition from a profoundly wise and empathetic writer.
Imagine going from neurologist to dermatologist, orthopaedic
surgeon to obstetrician, assassin to saviour - all in one day.
Welcome to the extraordinary world of veterinary medicine... In
Never Work with Animals, vet Gareth Steel shares the moments of
humour, horror and heroism across his 20-year career caring for
creatures great and small, from bulls to stick insects.
Thought-provoking, heartwarming and often laugh-out-loud funny,
this unforgettable memoir reveals what life is really like for our
vets.
A New Scientist Book of the Year A Physics Today Book of the Year A
Science News Book of the Year The history of science is replete
with women getting little notice for their groundbreaking
discoveries. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, a tireless innovator who
correctly theorized the substance of stars, was one of them. It was
not easy being a woman of ambition in early twentieth-century
England, much less one who wished to be a scientist. Cecilia
Payne-Gaposchkin overcame prodigious obstacles to become a woman of
many firsts: the first to receive a PhD in astronomy from Radcliffe
College, the first promoted to full professor at Harvard, the first
to head a department there. And, in what has been called "the most
brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy," she was the first
to describe what stars are made of. Payne-Gaposchkin lived in a
society that did not know what to make of a determined schoolgirl
who wanted to know everything. She was derided in college and
refused a degree. As a graduate student, she faced formidable
skepticism. Revolutionary ideas rarely enjoy instantaneous
acceptance, but the learned men of the astronomical community found
hers especially hard to take seriously. Though welcomed at the
Harvard College Observatory, she worked for years without
recognition or status. Still, she accomplished what every scientist
yearns for: discovery. She revealed the atomic composition of
stars-only to be told that her conclusions were wrong by the very
man who would later show her to be correct. In What Stars Are Made
Of, Donovan Moore brings this remarkable woman to life through
extensive archival research, family interviews, and photographs.
Moore retraces Payne-Gaposchkin's steps with visits to cramped
observatories and nighttime bicycle rides through the streets of
Cambridge, England. The result is a story of devotion and tenacity
that speaks powerfully to our own time.
Now a major film starring Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy and Kyle
Chandler, directed by Oscar-winner Damien Chazelle, First Man by
James Hansen offers the only authorized glimpse into the life of
America's most famous astronaut, Neil Armstrong - the man whose
"one small step" changed history. In First Man, Hansen explores the
life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over 50 hours of interviews with
the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive
access to private documents and family sources, this "magnificent
panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century"
(Publishers Weekly, Starred Review) is an unparalleled biography of
an American icon. When Apollo 11 touched down on the moon's surface
in 1969, the first man on the moon became a legend. Hansen vividly
recreates Armstrong's career in flying, from his seventy-eight
combat missions as a naval aviator flying over North Korea to his
formative transatmospheric flights in the rocket-powered X-15 to
his piloting Gemini VIII to the first-ever docking in space. For a
pilot who cared more about flying to the Moon than he did about
walking on it, Hansen asserts, Armstrong's storied vocation exacted
a dear personal toll, paid in kind by his wife and children. In the
years since the Moon landing, rumors swirled around Armstrong
concerning his dreams of space travel, his religious beliefs, and
his private life. This book reveals the man behind the myth. In a
penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses
the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and as an
individual. In First Man, the personal, technological, epic, and
iconic blend to form the portrait of a great but reluctant hero who
will forever be known as history's most famous space traveler.
AN UNSUNG HEROINE OF THE SPACE AGE--HER STORY FINALLY
TOLD.
This is the extraordinary true story of America's first female
rocket scientist. Told by her son, it describes Mary Sherman
Morgan's crucial contribution to launching America's first
satellite and the author's labyrinthine journey to uncover his
mother's lost legacy--one buried deep under a lifetime of secrets
political, technological, and personal.
In 1938, a young German rocket enthusiast named Wernher von Braun
had dreams of building a rocket that could fly him to the moon. In
Ray, North Dakota, a young farm girl named Mary Sherman was
attending high school. In an age when girls rarely dreamed of a
career in science, Mary wanted to be a chemist. A decade later the
dreams of these two disparate individuals would coalesce in ways
neither could have imagined.
World War II and the Cold War space race with the Russians changed
the fates of both von Braun and Mary Sherman Morgan. When von Braun
and other top engineers could not find a solution to the repeated
failures that plagued the nascent US rocket program, North American
Aviation, where Sherman Morgan then worked, was given the
challenge. Recognizing her talent for chemistry, company management
turned the assignment over to young Mary.
In the end, America succeeded in launching rockets into space, but
only because of the joint efforts of the brilliant farm girl from
North Dakota and the famous German scientist. While von Braun went
on to become a high-profile figure in NASA's manned space flight,
Mary Sherman Morgan and her contributions fell into
obscurity--until now.
A vibrant graphic adaptation of the classic science memoir Regarded
as one of the world's preeminent biologists, Edward O. Wilson spent
his boyhood exploring the forests and swamps of south Alabama and
the Florida panhandle, collecting snakes, butterflies, and
ants--the latter to become his lifelong specialty. His memoir
Naturalist, called "one of the finest scientific memoirs ever
written" by the Los Angeles Times, is an inspiring account of
Wilson's growth as a scientist and the evolution of the fields he
helped define. This graphic edition, adapted by Jim Ottaviani and
illustrated by C.M.Butzer, brings Wilson's childhood and celebrated
career to life through dynamic full-color illustrations and
Wilson's own lyric writing. In this adaptation of Naturalist, vivid
illustrations draw readers in to Wilson's lifelong quest to explore
and protect the natural world. His success began not with an elite
education but an insatiable curiosity about Earth's wild creatures,
and this new edition of Naturalist makes Wilson's work accessible
for anyone who shares his passion. On every page, striking art adds
immediacy and highlights the warmth and sense of humor that sets
Wilson's writing apart. Naturalist was written as an invitation--a
reminder that curiosity is vital and scientific exploration is open
to all of us. Each dynamic frame of this graphic adaptation deepens
Wilson's message, renewing his call to discover and celebrate the
little things of the world.
An archive of personal trauma that addresses how a culture still
toxic to queer people can reshape a body In the summer of 2019,
Jonathan Alexander had a minor stroke, what his doctors called an
"eye stroke." A small bit of cholesterol came loose from a vein in
his neck and instead of shooting into his brain and causing damage,
it lodged itself in a branch artery of his retina, resulting in a
permanent blindspot in his right eye. In Stroke Book, Alexander
recounts both the immediate aftermath of his health crisis, which
marked deeper health concerns, as well as his experiences as a
queer person subject to medical intervention. A pressure that the
queer ill contend with is feeling at fault for their condition, of
having somehow chosen illness as punishment for their queerness,
however subconsciously. Queer people often experience psychic and
somatic pressures that not only decrease their overall quality of
life but can also lead to shorter lifespans. Emerging out of a
medical emergency and a need to think and feel that crisis through
the author's sexuality, changing sense of dis/ability, and
experience of time, Stroke Book invites readers on a personal
journey of facing a health crisis while trying to understand how
one's sexual identity affects and is affected by that crisis.
Pieceing and stitching together his experience in a queered diary
form, Alexander's lyrical prose documents his ongoing, unfolding
experience in the aftermath of the stroke. Through the fracturing
of his text, which almost mirrors his fractured sight post-stroke,
the author grapples with his shifted experience of time, weaving in
and out, while he tracks the aftermath of what he comes to call his
"incident" and meditates on how a history of homophobic encounters
can manifest in embodied forms. The book situates itself within a
larger queer tradition of writing-first, about the body, then about
the body unbecoming, and then, yet further, about the body ongoing,
even in the shadow of death. Stroke Book also documents the
complexities of critique and imagination while holding open a space
for dreaming, pleasure, intimacy, and the unexpected.
When John McPhee met Bill Bradley, both were at the beginning of their careers. A Sense of Where You Are, McPhee’s first book, is about Bradley when he was the best basketball player Princeton had ever seen. McPhee delineates for the reader the training and techniques that made Bradley the extraordinary athlete he was, and this part of the book is a blueprint of superlative basketball. But athletic prowess alone would not explain Bradley’s magnetism, which is in the quality of the man himself—his self-discipline, his rationality, and his sense of responsibility. Here is a portrait of Bradley as he was in college, before his time with the New York Knicks and his election to the U.S. Senate—a story that suggests the abundant beginnings of his professional careers in sport and politics.
The astonishing biography of Josef Ganz, a Jewish designer from
Frankfurt, who in May 1931 created a revolutionary small car: the
Maikafer (German for "May bug"). Seven years later, Hitler
introduced the Volkswagen. The Nazis not only "took" the concept of
Ganz's family car--their production model even ended up bearing the
same nickname. The Beetle incorporated many of the features of
Ganz's original Maikafer, yet until recently Ganz received no
recognition for his pioneering work. The Nazis did all they could
to keep the Jewish godfather of the German compact car out of the
history books. Now Paul Schilperoord sets the record straight.
Josef Ganz was hunted by the Nazis, even beyond Germany's borders,
and narrowly escaped assassination. He was imprisoned by the
Gestapo until an influential friend with connections to Goring
helped secure his release. Soon afterward, he was forced to flee
Germany, while Porsche, using many of his groundbreaking ideas,
created the Volkswagen for Hitler. After the war, Ganz moved to
Australia, where he died in 1967.
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