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Books > Biography > Science, technology & engineering
On December 10, 2007, just three months shy of her thirtieth birthday, Tyesha Love received a phone call that would change her life forever. After being told she had stage 2 breast cancer, Tyesha's world stopped, the walls closed in, and she fell to the floor sobbing. This is the story of her compelling journey through breast cancer from diagnosis to treatment to triumph. As a single parent, full-time student, and full-time employee, Tyesha, a self-confessed control freak, already had her entire year planned out when she received her diagnosis. No stranger to confronting daily challenges, Tyesha relays how she placed her worries and fears in God's hands and then courageously confronted the tests, surgeries, treatments, and recovery. While sharing the poignant moments like when her one-year-old nephew blew a kiss at her cancer-ridden breast, Tyesha also provides a self-disclosing glimpse into what it is like to fear the unknown, feel the physical pain after a mastectomy, and face herself in the mirror after she loses her hair. Tyesha's moving story is intended to be a testimony for those battling breast cancer with the hope that her journey will become the inspiration to persevere and prevail while believing in faith, hope, and life.
By the early 17th century the Scientific Revolution was well under way. Philosophers and scientists were throwing off the yoke of ancient authority to peer at nature and the cosmos through microscopes and telescopes. In October 1632, in the small town of Delft in the Dutch Republic, two geniuses were born who would bring about a seismic shift in the idea of what it meant to see the world. One was Johannes Vermeer, whose experiments with lenses and a camera obscura taught him how we see under different conditions of light and helped him create the most luminous works of art ever beheld. The other was Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, whose work with microscopes revealed a previously unimagined realm of minuscule creatures. By intertwining the biographies of these two men, Laura Snyder tells the story of a historical moment in both art and science that revolutionized how we see the world today.
Based on a National Magazine Award-winning article, this masterful biography of Hungarian-born Paul Erdos is both a vivid portrait of an eccentric genius and a layman's guide to some of this century's most startling mathematical discoveries. A man who possessed unimaginable powers of thought yet was unable to perform the simplest daily tasks, Erdos dedicated his life to the pursuit of mathematical truth. Here, award-winning science writer Paul Hoffman follows the career and achievements of this philosopher-scientist whose way of life was as inconceivable as the theorems he devised, yet whose accomplishments continue to enrich and inform the world.
As a Ziegfeld Follies girl and film actress, Justine Johnstone (1895-1982) was celebrated as ""the most beautiful woman in the world."" Her career took an unexpected turn when she abruptly retired from acting at 31. For the remainder of her life, she was a cutting-edge pathologist. Her research at Columbia University contributed to the pre-penicillin treatment of syphilis and she participated in the development of early cancer treatments at Caltech. The first full-length biography of Johnstone chronicles her extraordinary success in two male-dominated fields-show business and medical science.
Learn everything you need to know about Albert Einstein, the genius who created the Theory of Relativity and calculated mass-energy equivalence. 101 Things You Didn't Know About Einstein provides in-depth, fascinating facts about the famous scientist and mathematician-including details about his personal life, scientific discoveries, interactions with his contemporaries, thoughts on war, religion, and politics, and his impact on the world since his death. Whether you're seeking inspiration, information, or interesting and entertaining trivia, this book contains everything you need to know about Albert Einstein!
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.
This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.
Serendipity placed David Johnston on Mount St. Helens when the volcano rumbled to life in March 1980. Throughout that ominous spring, Johnston was part of a team that conducted scientific research that underpinned warnings about the mountain. Those warnings saved thousands of lives when the most devastating volcanic eruption in U.S. history blew apart Mount St. Helens, but killed Johnston on the ridge that now bears his name. Melanie Holmes tells the story of Johnston's journey from a nature-loving Boy Scout to a committed geologist. Blending science with personal detail, Holmes follows Johnston through encounters with Aleutian volcanoes, his work helping the Portuguese government assess the geothermal power of the Azores, and his dream job as a volcanologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Interviews and personal writings reveal what a friend called "the most unjaded person I ever met," an imperfect but kind, intelligent young scientist passionately in love with his life and work and determined to make a difference.
This biography of the mathematician, Sophie Germain, paints a rich portrait of a brilliant and complex woman, the mathematics she developed, her associations with Gauss, Legendre, and other leading researchers, and the tumultuous times in which she lived. Sophie Germain stood right between Gauss and Legendre, and both publicly recognized her scientific efforts. Unlike her female predecessors and contemporaries, Sophie Germain was an impressive mathematician and made lasting contributions to both number theory and the theories of plate vibrations and elasticity. She was able to walk with ease across the bridge between the fields of pure mathematics and engineering physics. Though isolated and snubbed by her peers, Sophie Germain was the first woman to win the prize of mathematics from the French Academy of Sciences. She is the only woman who contributed to the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. In this unique biography, Dora Musielak has done the impossible she has chronicled Sophie Germain's brilliance through her life and work in mathematics, in a way that is simultaneously informative, comprehensive, and accurate.
Isaac Newton was indisputably one of the greatest scientists in history. His achievements in mathematics and physics marked the culmination of the movement that brought modern science into being. Richard Westfall's biography captures in engaging detail both his private life and scientific career, presenting a complex picture of Newton the man, and as scientist, philosopher, theologian, alchemist, public figure, President of the Royal Society, and Warden of the Royal Mint. An abridged version of his magisterial study Never at Rest (Cambridge, 1980), this concise biography makes Westfall's highly acclaimed portrait of Newton newly accessible to general readers.
The names 'Keith Duckworth' and 'DFV' are practically synonymous, such is the reputation of the famous F1 racing engine which he designed. Whilst there are books covering the technical aspects of the DFV engine, and other designs from Cosworth, the company which he founded with Mike Costin, there are many gaps in the story of Duckworth's career, before and after Cosworth. This book comprehensively fills those gaps, taking the reader into the world of Britain's finest 20th century engineers.It was a world consisting of far more than motorsport, embracing an astonishing variety of mechnical devices, including aircraft, boats, and motorcycles - particularly Triumph, for whom he was a consultant during his retirement.A man of strong convictions and high integrity, Keith Duckworth OBE cared passionately about his work, fitting almost every aspect of his life around it. From his northern industrial roots, the ups and downs of his personal life, his health problems, to his generous support of charities and business start-ups, this book recreates the story of one of motorsport's - and engineering's - most endearing and enduring characters.
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.
Fear of contagion, isolated patients, a surge of overwhelming and unpreventable deaths, and the frontline healthcare workers who shouldered the responsibility of seeing us through a deadly epidemic: as we continue to confront the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, Taking Turns reminds us that we've been through this before. Only a few decades ago, the world faced another terrifying and deadly health crisis: HIV/AIDS. Nurse MK Czerwiec began working at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center's HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 in the 1990s-a pivotal time in the history of AIDS. Deaths from the disease in the United States peaked in 1995 and then dropped drastically in the following years, with the release of effective drug treatments. In this graphic memoir, Czerwiec provides an insider's view of the lives of healthcare workers, patients, and loved ones from Unit 371. With humor, insight, and emotion, MK shows how the patients and staff cared for one another, how the sick faced their deaths, and how the survivors looked for hope in what seemed, at times, like a hopeless situation. Drawn in a restrained, inviting style, Taking Turns is an open, honest look at suffering, grief, and resilience among a community of medical professionals and patients at the heart of the AIDS epidemic.
Nnedi Okorafor was never supposed to be paralyzed. A college track star and budding entomologist, Nnedi's lifelong battle with scoliosis was just a bump in her plan - something a simple surgery would easily correct. But when Nnedi wakes from the surgery to find she can't move her legs, her entire sense of who she is begins to waver. Confined to a hospital bed for months, unusual things begin to happen. Psychedelic bugs crawl her hospital walls; strange dreams visit her nightly. She begins to feel as if she's turning into a cyborg. Unsure if she'll ever walk again, Nnedi begins to put these experiences into writing, conjuring up strange, fantastical stories. What Nnedi discovers during her confinement would prove to be the key to her life as a successful science fiction writer: In science fiction, when something breaks, something greater often emerges from the cracks. While she may be bedridden, instead of stopping her journey Nnedi's paralysis opens up new windows in her mind, kindles her creativity and ultimately leads her to become more alive than she ever could have imagined. Nnedi takes the reader on a journey from her hospital bed deep into her memories, from her painful first experiences with racism as a child in Chicago to her powerful visits to her parents' hometown in Nigeria, where she got her first inkling that science fiction has roots beyond the West. This was not the Africa that Nnedi knew from Western literature - an Africa that she always read was a place left behind. The role of technology in Nigeria opened her eyes to future-looking Africa: cable TV and cell phones in the village, 419 scammers occupying the cybercafes, the small generator connected to her cousin's desktop computer, everyone quickly adapting to portable tech devices due to unreliable power sources. Nnedi could see that Africa was far from broken, as she'd been taught, and her experience there planted the early seeds of sci-fi - a genre that speculates about technologies, societies, and social issues - from an entirely new lens. In Broken Places & Outer Spaces, Nnedi uses her own experience as a jumping off point to follow the phenomenon of creativity born from hardship. From Frida Kahlo to Mary Shelly, she examines great artists and writers who have pushed through their limitations, using hardship to fuel their work. Through these compelling stories and her own, Nnedi reveals a universal truth: What we perceive as limitations have the potential to become our greatest strengths - far greater than when we were unbroken.
Originally published in 1939, this book contains the autobiography of the well-travelled Victorian engineer John Brunton (1812-99), which he wrote for his grandchildren. Much of the text is taken up with Brunton's description of his adventures between 1858 and 1862 as Chief Resident Engineer on the Scinde Railway, which ran from Karachi to Kotri. Brunton's account is easy to read and filled with a number of interesting vignettes of colonial life and attitudes. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of engineering or the colonial history of India.
"What Bodanis does brilliantly is to give us a feel for Einstein as a person. I don't think I've ever read a book that does this as well . . . Whenever there's a chance for storytelling, Bodanis triumphs." --Popular Science "Fascinating." --Forbes Widely considered the greatest genius of all time, Albert Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the cosmos with his general theory of relativity and helped lead us into the atomic age. Yet in the final decades of his life, he was ignored by most working scientists, and his ideas were opposed by even his closest friends. How did this happen? Best-selling biographer David Bodanis traces the arc of Einstein's life--from the skeptical, erratic student to the world's most brilliant physicist to the fallen-from-grace celebrity. An intimate biography in which "theories of the universe morph into theories of life" (Times, London), Einstein's Greatest Mistake reveals what we owe Einstein today--and how much more he might have achieved if not for his all-too-human flaws.
Originally published in 1929, this book presents a comprehensive biography of the clergyman, scientific pioneer and philanthropist Stephen Hales (1677-1761). Aimed at the general reader, together with botanists and physiologists, the text was produced upon instruction from the Masters and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Hales. Illustrative figures and notes are incorporated throughout. This is a highly readable book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in the life and works of Hales or the history of science.
The Baskerville Bible of 1763 is perhaps the most famous work published by Cambridge University Press, and Baskerville's own type punches are among its most treasured possessions. This short biography of John Baskerville (1706 75) was published in 1914 by Josiah Henry Benton (1843 1917), an American lawyer and author. Baskerville, born in Worcestershire, set up as a writing-master and letter-cutter in Birmingham, but later built up a business in 'japanning', the imitation of Japanese lacquer work, from which he made his fortune. He began working as a type-founder and printer around 1750, and made innovations not only in typefaces but also in paper, ink and printing machines. The quality of his books - not only the Bible, but also the Book of Common Prayer, an edition of Virgil, and Milton's Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, among others - made them collectors' items: Benton provides an appendix listing his own Baskerville books."
This encyclopedia examines Marie Curie's life and contributions. The chronology provides a thumbnail sketch of events in Curie's life, including her personal experiences, education, and publications. The Introduction provides a brief look at her life. The body of this work consists of alphabetical entries of people, ideas, institutions, places, and publications important in making of Curie as an important scientist. The final section of the book is a bibliography of both primary and selected secondary sources.
"[T]his is a scholarly, commendable biography and intellectual history. Lay readers will be challenged; psychologists and historians will be grateful."-Library Journal, starred review First published in 1946, Viktor Frankl's memoir Man's Search for Meaning remains one of the most influential books of the last century, selling over ten million copies worldwide and having been embraced by successive generations of readers captivated by its author's philosophical journey in the wake of the Holocaust. This long-overdue reappraisal examines Frankl's life and intellectual evolution anew, from his early immersion in Freudian and Adlerian theory to his development of the "third Viennese school" amid the National Socialist domination of professional psychotherapy. It teases out the fascinating contradictions and ambiguities surrounding his years in Nazi Europe, including the experimental medical procedures he oversaw in occupied Austria and a stopover at the Auschwitz concentration camp far briefer than has commonly been assumed. Throughout, author Timothy Pytell gives a penetrating but fair-minded account of a man whose paradoxical embodiment of asceticism, celebrity, tradition, and self-reinvention drew together the complex strands of twentieth-century intellectual life. From the introduction: At the same time, Frankl's testimony, second only to the Diary of Anne Frankin popularity, has raised the ire of experts on the Holocaust. For example, in the 1990s the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington purportedly refused to sell Man's Search for Meaningin the gift shop.... During the late 1960s and early 1970s Frankl became very popular in America. Frankl's survival of the Holocaust, his reassurance that life is meaningful, and his personal conviction that God exists served to make him a forerunner of the self-help genre.
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1914 edition. Excerpt: ...In the world of affairs the wind was howling, too, and the storm was gathering which culminated in the series of lawsuits brought by Morse and his associates against the infringers on his patents. The letters to his brother are full of the details of these piratical attacks, but throughout all the turmoil he maintained his poise and his faith in the triumph of justice and truth. In the letter just quoted from he says: "These matters do not annoy me as formerly. I have seen so many dark storms which threatened, and particularly in relation to the Telegraph, and I have seen them so often hushed at the 'Peace, be still' of our covenant God, that now the fears and anxieties on any fresh gathering soon subside into perfect calm." And on November 27, he writes: "The most annoying part of the matter to me is that, notwithstanding my matters are all in the hands of agents and I have nothing to do with any of the arrangements, I am held up by name to the odium of the public. Lawsuits are commenced against them at Cincinnati and will be in Indiana and Illinois as well as here, and so, notwithstanding all my efforts to get along peaceably, I find the fate of Whitney before me. I think I may be able to secure my farm, and so have a place to retire to for the PEACE IN THE NEW HOME 283 evening of my days, but even this may be denied me. A few months will decide.... You have before you the fate of an inventor, and, take as much pains as you will to secure to yourself your valuable invention, make up your mind from my experience now, in addition to others, that you will be robbed of it and abused into the bargain. This is the lot of a successful inventor or discoverer, and no precaution, I believe, will save him from it. He will meet with a mixed estimate; the... |
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