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Books > Biography > Science, technology & engineering
At a time when the Manhattan Project was synonymous with
large-scale science, physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-67)
represented the new sociocultural power of the American
intellectual. Catapulted to fame as director of the Los Alamos
atomic weapons laboratory, Oppenheimer occupied a key position in
the compact between science and the state that developed out of
World War II. By tracing the making--and unmaking--of Oppenheimer's
wartime and postwar scientific identity, Charles Thorpe illustrates
the struggles over the role of the scientist in relation to nuclear
weapons, the state, and culture.
A stylish intellectual biography, "Oppenheimer" maps out changes
in the roles of scientists and intellectuals in twentieth-century
America, ultimately revealing transformations in Oppenheimer's
persona that coincided with changing attitudes toward science in
society.
"This is an outstandingly well-researched book, a pleasure to read
and distinguished by the high quality of its observations and
judgments. It will be of special interest to scholars of modern
history, but non-specialist readers will enjoy the clarity that
Thorpe brings to common misunderstandings about his
subject."--Graham Farmelo," Times Higher Education Supplement""" "A
fascinating new perspective. . . . Thorpe's book provides the best
perspective yet for understanding Oppenheimer's Los Alamos years,
which were critical, after all, not only to his life but, for
better or worse, the history of mankind."--Catherine Westfall,
"Nature"
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unpublished material and previously unseen family papers,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
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.
William Burns is best known as `America's Sherlock Holmes' and was
director of the FBI, shortly before J. Edgar Hoover. But before he
became director, Burns had a long, highly publicized career as a
detective for the Secret Service, then led the famed Burns
International Detective Agency, which competed with his rival, the
Pinkerton Detective Agency.
Henry Fraser's entertaining autobiography starts with tales of a
unique childhood growing up at the local governance centre of a
rural parish in Barbados, where most parishioners visited the
offices of his parents at the family home. This rich community
involvement had a profound influence on his life of service. Sir
Henry describes why he chose to study medicine at the University of
the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica, and so became a passionate West
Indian. After specialization and PhD studies in London, he returned
to Barbados and helped to build better health care there. He
promoted rational therapeutics regionally and globally, working
with PAHO and WHO, and his research centre and wide-ranging
research have greatly benefited the Caribbean. His passion for
teaching, patient care, mentoring and management shows throughout
the book. Sir Henry has been described as the Renaissance man of
Barbados: in addition to his remarkable medical career, he has been
public orator for Barbados and for the University of the West
Indies, Cave Hill, and an independent senator in the Barbados
Senate (where he discovered the reasons for the syndrome he
labelled Government's Implementation Deficit Disorder or GIDD). His
other lifelong passions have been art, architectural history and
heritage preservation, and writing. His autobiography makes
fascinating reading: he is a natural story teller and, as he often
says, "History is his story." The book is replete with captivating
anecdotes and is illustrated with some of his paintings.
This is a definitive, deeply researched biography of Russian
physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) and is the first scholarly
biography to be published in any language. The book is Todes's
magnum opus, which he has been working on for some twenty years.
Todes makes use of a wealth of archival material to portray
Pavlov's personality, life, times, and scientific work. Combining
personal documents with a close reading of scientific texts, Todes
fundamentally reinterprets Pavlov's famous research on conditional
reflexes. Contrary to legend, Pavlov was not a behaviorist (a
misimpression captured in the false iconic image of his "training a
dog to salivate to the sound of a bell"); rather, he sought to
explain not simply external behaviors, but the emotional and
intellectual life of animals and humans. This iconic "objectivist"
was actually a profoundly anthropomorphic thinker whose science was
suffused with his own experiences, values, and subjective
interpretations. This book is also a traditional "life and times"
biography that weaves Pavlov into some 100 years of Russian
history-particularly that of its intelligentsia-from the
emancipation of the serfs to Stalin's time. Pavlov was born to a
family of priests in provincial Ryazan before the serfs were
emancipated, made his home and professional success in the
glittering capital of St. Petersburg in late imperial Russia,
suffered the cataclysmic destruction of his world during the
Bolshevik seizure of power and civil war of 1917-1921, rebuilt his
life in his 70s as a "prosperous dissident" during the Leninist
1920s, and flourished professionally as never before in 1929-1936
during the industrialization, revolution, and terror of Stalin.
Todes's story of this powerful personality and extraordinary man is
based upon interviews with surviving coworkers and family members
(along with never-before-analyzed taped interviews from the 1960s
and 1970s), examination of hundreds of scientific works by Pavlov
and his coworkers, and close analysis of materials from some
twenty-five archives. The documents range from the records of his
student years at Ryazan Seminary to the transcripts of the
Communist Party cells in his labs, and from his scientific
manuscripts and notebooks to his political speeches; they include
revealing love letters to his future wife and correspondence with
hundreds of lay people, scholars, artists, and Communist Party
leaders; and unpublished memoirs by many coworkers, his daughter,
his wife, and his lover.
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.
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.
A neuroscientist transforms the way we think about our brain, our health, and our personal happiness in this clear, informative, and inspiring guide—a blend of personal memoir, science narrative, and immediately useful takeaways that bring the human brain into focus as never before, revealing the powerful connection between exercise, learning, memory, and cognitive abilities.
Nearing forty, Dr. Wendy Suzuki was at the pinnacle of her career. An award-winning university professor and world-renowned neuroscientist, she had tenure, her own successful research lab, prestigious awards, and international renown.
That’s when to celebrate her birthday, she booked an adventure trip that forced her to wake up to a startling reality: despite her professional success, she was overweight, lonely, and tired and knew that her life had to change. Wendy started simply—by going to an exercise class. Eventually, she noticed an improvement in her memory, her energy levels, and her ability to work quickly and move from task to task easily. Not only did Wendy begin to get fit, but she also became sharper, had more energy, and her memory improved. Being a neuroscientist, she wanted to know why.
What she learned transformed her body and her life. Now, it can transform yours.
Wendy discovered that there is a biological connection between exercise, mindfulness, and action. With exercise, your body feels more alive and your brain actually performs better. Yes—you can make yourself smarter. In this fascinating book, Suzuki makes neuroscience easy to understand, interweaving her personal story with groundbreaking research, and offering practical, short exercises—4 minute Brain Hacks—to engage your mind and improve your memory, your ability to learn new skills, and function more efficiently.
Taking us on an amazing journey inside the brain as never before, Suzuki helps us unlock the keys to neuroplasticity that can change our brains, or bodies, and, ultimately, our lives.
Behind the beloved animated films of Walt Disney Studios, which
have moved and entertained millions of viewers, was an incredibly
influential group of women who have slipped under the radar for
decades. For the first time, bestselling author Nathalia Holt
recounts their dramatic stories, showing how these women
infiltrated the all-male domain of Disney's story and animation
departments and used early technologies to create the rich artwork
and unforgettable story lines that have become part of the American
canon. Over the decades---while battling sexism, domestic abuse,
and workplace intimidation---these women also fought to transform
the way female characters are depicted to young audiences. 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 film making, culminating in the record-shattering
Frozen, Disney's first female-directed full-length feature film.
This book is the result of extensive archival research conducted on
the Collection "Silvano Arieti Papers" held in the Manuscript
Division of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. It offers
readers the first scientific biography of the renowned Italian-born
psychiatrist Silvano Arieti, who in 1939 emigrated to the United
States, where he gained fame and recognition for his work on
schizophrenia. In 1975, the second edition of his book,
Interpretation of Schizophrenia, received the National Book Award
in Science. The book has been cast as a twofold journey: an
exploration of the life of a psychiatrist and scientist and an
overview of twentieth century psychiatry and its significant
issues, debates, and transformations. Readers will find useful
insights for a better understanding of psychiatry as a discipline
capable of portraying the complexity of human nature.
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October Child
(Paperback)
Linda Bostroem Knausgard; Translated by Saskia Vogel
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From 2013 to 2017, Linda Bostroem Knausgard was periodically
confined to a psychiatric ward and subjected to electroconvulsive
therapy, resulting in the loss of memories. This is the story of
her struggle against mental illness and isolation "(Bostroem
Knausgard's) first openly autobiographical book becomes an act of
self-examination powerful enough to match if not surpass those of
her ex-husband's."--The Guardian From 2013 to 2017, Linda Bostroem
Knausgard was periodically interned in a psychiatric ward where she
was subjected to electroconvulsive therapy. As the treatments at
this "factory" progressed, the writer's memories began to
disappear. What good is a writer without her memory? This book,
based on the author's experiences, is an eloquent and profound
attempt to hold on to the past, to create a story, to make sense,
and to keep alive ties to family, friends, and even oneself.
Moments from childhood, youth, marriage, parenting, and divorce
flicker across the pages of October Child. This is the story of one
woman's struggle against mental illness and isolation. It is a raw
testimony of how writing can preserve and heal.
This autobiography presents a personal account of the life of a
woman academic, over a span of 60 years, from incidents in her
childhood, through the education process from primary to
pre-university education in British Malaya to two doctorates from
University College London. As the story unfolds, it is immediately
apparent that her journey in academia has been far from
ordinary.She gives credit to the excellent early education she
received in Ipoh - a medium-sized town in Malaya - from highly
qualified and dedicated nuns and teachers in the Convent of the
Holy Infant Jesus. Hers was a career carved out by Providence, as
she "drifted" to various international centers of learning,
depending on the sponsorship of scholarships available at the time.
Her drive and passion for chemistry (actually with other attributes
as well) allowed her to rub shoulders with some of the best minds
in the field. Her association with numerous colleagues, mentors and
scientists, unintentionally and unknowingly, laid the groundwork
for a sort of global networking, which in turn influenced her
career path in subtle yet significant ways. This proved immensely
useful later as she balanced the rigorous demands of teaching,
research and family. She has shown that it is not impossible for a
woman to make a success of family and life in academia.Indeed, her
story will encourage young women venturing into science and
academia. It also shows that developing countries - more than their
developed counterparts - have a good deal to gain from their
professional citizens by removing obstacles such as unduly early
mandatory retirement and poor support for active researchers. It is
a refreshing glimpse into the author's generation in science and
academia and a repository of important insights for students and
scientists in developing and emerging economies.
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.
John Roebling was one of the nineteenth century's most brilliant
engineers, ingenious inventors, successful manufacturers, and
fascinating personalities. Raised in a German backwater amid the
war-torn chaos of the Napoleonic Wars, he immigrated to the US in
1831, where he became wealthy and acclaimed, eventually receiving a
carte-blanche contract to build one of the nineteenth century's
most stupendous and daring works of engineering: a gigantic
suspension bridge to span the East River between New York and
Brooklyn. In between, he thought, wrote, and worked tirelessly. He
dug canals and surveyed railroads; he planned communities and
founded new industries. Horace Greeley called him "a model
immigrant"; generations later, F. Scott Fitzgerald worked on a
script for the movie version of his life. Like his finest
creations, Roebling was held together by the delicate balance of
countervailing forces. On the surface, his life was exemplary and
his accomplishments legion. As an immigrant and employer, he was
respected throughout the world. As an engineer, his works
profoundly altered the physical landscape of America. He was a
voracious reader, a fervent abolitionist, and an engaged social
commentator. His understanding of the natural world however,
bordered on the occult and his opinions about medicine are best
described as medieval. For a man of science and great
self-certainty, he was also remarkably quick to seize on a whole
host of fads and foolish trends. Yet Roebling held these strands
together. Throughout his life, he believed in the moral application
of science and technology, that bridges-along with other great
works of connection, the Atlantic Cable, the Transcontinental
Railroad-could help bring people together, erase divisions, and
heal wounds. Like Walt Whitman, Roebling was deeply committed to
the creation of a more perfect union, forged from the raw materials
of the continent. John Roebling was a complex, deeply divided yet
undoubtedly influential figure, and this biography illuminates not
only his works but also the world of nineteenth-century America.
Roebling's engineering feats are well known, but the man himself is
not; for alongside the drama of large scale construction lies an
equally rich drama of intellectual and social development and
crisis, one that mirrored and reflected the great forces, trials,
and failures of nineteenth century America.
Her goal: to become a world-renowned biomedical engineer working
with scientific societies to improve the role of women in
scientific fields and the way scientists and engineers integrate
people and society into their work. By 1979, this goal had become a
reality. In her memoirs, esteemed biomedical engineer Monique Frize
recalls the events that taught her to over-come obstacles, become
more resilient, recognize the importance of mentors and role
models, and remain focused on the future. She also speaks of her
appreciation of the critical role played by family and friends in
maintaining the strength and determination required to succeed-and,
above all, to succeed in a man's world. Frize fondly remembers her
youth in Montreal and in Ottawa, as well as her marked interest for
math and science. Her entry into the world of engineering was both
romantic-she met her husband-and tragic. She recounts the prejudice
and stereotypes she faced. She pursued a challenging and rewarding
international career in a very specialized field at a time when
this was still very uncommon for a woman, acceding at the very
moment of the tragic Ecole Polytechnique massacre to key positions
in support of women in science. These memoirs are sure to inspire
young women who have a dream, and more specifically those who wish
to enter sciences and engineering.
WINNER OF THE 2015 COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD WINNER OF THE ROYAL
SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2016 'A thrilling adventure story' Bill
Bryson 'Dazzling' Literary Review 'Brilliant' Sunday Express
'Extraordinary and gripping' New Scientist 'A superb biography' The
Economist 'An exhilarating armchair voyage' GILES MILTON, Mail on
Sunday Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) is the great lost
scientist - more things are named after him than anyone else. There
are towns, rivers, mountain ranges, the ocean current that runs
along the South American coast, there's a penguin, a giant squid -
even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon. His colourful adventures
read like something out of a Boy's Own story: Humboldt explored
deep into the rainforest, climbed the world's highest volcanoes and
inspired princes and presidents, scientists and poets alike.
Napoleon was jealous of him; Simon Bolivar's revolution was fuelled
by his ideas; Darwin set sail on the Beagle because of Humboldt;
and Jules Verne's Captain Nemo owned all his many books. He simply
was, as one contemporary put it, 'the greatest man since the
Deluge'. Taking us on a fantastic voyage in his footsteps - racing
across anthrax-infected Russia or mapping tropical rivers alive
with crocodiles - Andrea Wulf shows why his life and ideas remain
so important today. Humboldt predicted human-induced climate change
as early as 1800, and The Invention of Nature traces his ideas as
they go on to revolutionize and shape science, conservation, nature
writing, politics, art and the theory of evolution. He wanted to
know and understand everything and his way of thinking was so far
ahead of his time that it's only coming into its own now. Alexander
von Humboldt really did invent the way we see nature.
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