Is there a God?

How did it all begin?

Can we predict the future?

What is inside a black hole?

Is there other intelligent life in the universe?

Will artificial intelligence outsmart us?

How do we shape the future?

Will we survive on Earth?

Should we colonise space?

Is time travel possible?

Throughout his extraordinary career, Stephen Hawking expanded our understanding of the universe and unravelled some of its greatest mysteries. But even as his theoretical work on black holes, imaginary time and multiple histories took his mind to the furthest reaches of space, Hawking always believed that science could also be used to fix the problems on our planet.

And now, as we face potentially catastrophic changes here on Earth - from climate change to dwindling natural resources to the threat of artificial super-intelligence - Stephen Hawking turns his attention to the most urgent issues for humankind.

Wide-ranging, intellectually stimulating, passionately argued, and infused with his characteristic humour, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, the final book from one of the greatest minds in history, is a personal view on the challenges we face as a human race, and where we, as a planet, are heading next.

A percentage of all royalties will go to charity.

A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A "remarkable" (Los Angeles Times), "seductive" (The Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why Fish Don't Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and--possibly--even murder. "At one point, Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish...comes up for air, and realizes she's in love. That's how I felt: Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten." --The New York Times Book Review David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a man possessed with bringing order to the natural world. In time, he would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of life he uncovered, the harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him. His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake--which sent more than a thousand discoveries, housed in fragile glass jars, plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life's work was shattered. Many might have given up, given in to despair. But Jordan? He surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish that he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the world. When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in passing, she took Jordan for a fool--a cautionary tale in hubris, or denial. But as her own life slowly unraveled, she began to wonder about him. Perhaps instead he was a model for how to go on when all seemed lost. What she would unearth about his life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet. Part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, Why Fish Don't Exist is a wondrous fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.

For more than twenty-five years, David Nott has taken unpaid leave from his job as a general and vascular surgeon with the NHS to volunteer in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones. From Sarajevo under siege in 1993, to clandestine hospitals in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, he has carried out life-saving operations and field surgery in the most challenging conditions, and with none of the resources of a major London teaching hospital.

The conflicts he has worked in form a chronology of twenty-first-century combat: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, Congo, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Gaza and Syria. But he has also volunteered in areas blighted by natural disasters, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal.

Driven both by compassion and passion, the desire to help others and the thrill of extreme personal danger, he is now widely acknowledged to be the most experienced trauma surgeon in the world. But as time has gone on, David Nott began to realize that flying into to a catastrophe - whether war or natural disaster – was not enough. Doctors on the ground needed to learn how to treat the appalling injuries that war inflicts upon its victims. Since 2015, the Foundation he set up with his wife, Elly, has disseminated the knowledge he has gained, training other doctors in the art of saving lives threatened by bombs and bullets.

War Doctor is his extraordinary story.

This biography of the eye surgeon Arthur Ferguson MacCallan is an insightful perspective on the life and work of the exceptional medical and ophthalmic pioneer. In 1903, Arthur MacCallan accepted a position in Egypt to establish the country's first travelling ophthalmic hospital, funded by the British philanthropist Sir Ernest Cassel. Over the next two decades, Arthur established an extensive network of over twenty ophthalmic hospitals which attended to over 1.5 million patients and performed over 76,000 operations. He also founded the Memorial Ophthalmic Laboratory at Giza which continues to play a pivotal role in ophthalmic care today. Arthur was a world authority on trachoma, and the MacCallan Classification, developed in 1905, was adopted by the World Health Organisation as its standard in 1952. This is still recognised today as a major contribution in the fight against trachoma. Set against the backdrop of political unrest, world war, and the rapidly changing relationship between Britain and Egypt during the momentous years of the early 1900s, Arthur's grandson Michael tells his fascinating story, brought to life through original letters, documents, colourful anecdotes and 160 photographs. Lord Cromer, British Consul General, Egypt (1883-1907) said "I regard the campaign against ophthalmia as one of the most important and useful works undertaken in Egypt."

The pioneer astronauts who took America into space tell their personal stories about the challenges they faced -- their fears, joys, friendships, and successes.

Chosen from hundreds of crackerjack pilots for their fitness, intelligence, and courage, the original Mercury Seven astronauts risked their lives to cross the space frontier. In "We Seven, " they take readers behind the scenes to show them their training, technology, and teamwork, and to share personal stories, including the lighter moments of their mission. They bring readers inside the Mercury program -- even into the space capsules themselves. "We Seven" straps you in with the astronauts and rockets you along for the ride.

Share Alan Shepard's exhilaration as he breaks through the earth's atmosphere. Endure moments of panic with Gus Grissom when his hatch blows, stranding him in the open sea. Race with John Glenn as he makes split-second life-or-death maneuvers during reentry, and feel his relief when he emerges safe but drenched with sweat.

Despite such heroism, Project Mercury was more than the story of individual missions. It defined the manned space flight program to come, from Gemini through Apollo. In "We Seven, " America's original astronauts tell us firsthand -- as only they can -- about the space program they pioneered, and share with us the hopes and dreams of the U.S. at the dawn of a new era.

Humorous, illuminating, poignant and sad anecdotes, illustrate the life of a family doctor working when general medical practice was very different from today. The GP cared for patients night and day, every day of the year and personal and professional lives intertwined. Colourful personalities, conniving rogues, the deceitful and the desperate, saint and sinner pass through the consulting room to provide fascinating glimpses of individuals, the doctor's life and the vagaries of human existence. Their tales are fascinating and a record of the social and medical fabric of the time.

When faced with events as devastating and rare as 1 in 100 million, you need the help of people who are 1 in a million In April 2013, at the age of fourteen George contracted a devastating infection that put him at death's door and changed his future. His experiences became the kernel of this book. Beginning on that fateful day and continuing until July 2014 with a critical operation, Better Angels tells George's inspiring story in his voice, his fight to return to normality and deal with consequences for the rest of his life. He and his family cope with a switch from full health to near death in the space of five hours. We see George find a maturity he is forced to take on and his parents search for positives at the bleakest of times. Extraordinary people rally to help George. These better angels gave rise to the title of the book and it is their story, their compassion & selflessness that inspires. Better Angels is a chronology of strength and fortitude- a description of a family thrown sideways by events, the compassion & expertise of healthcare teams to get them back on track, but above all George's journey to find himself again.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

The battles that women had to fight to enter the medical profession have been well-documented by historians. A Painful Inch to Gain takes a more personal approach, focusing on the stories of individual women medical students. Drawing as far as possible on their own words, Eileen Crofton (who herself qualified as a doctor during the Second World War) looks at what made these young women want to pursue a career in medicine in the first place. They knew they faced considerable obstacles. In the face of male hostility, how could they ensure that they got as thorough a medical training as the men? And how could they pay for this training, let alone feed and clothe themselves? With no role models, how were they to conduct themselves? What should they wear? How were they to balance the demands of their profession with their expectations of love and marriage? Finally, having qualified as doctors, what was to be their role in their chosen profession?

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.