![]() |
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
||
|
Books > Biography > Science, technology & engineering
'Birkhead has combined ingenuity and perseverance to produce an
evocative portrait of a great pioneer in the scientific study of birds'
Literary Review
This book tells the incredible story of George Gamow, one of the most brilliant and extravagant physicists of the past century. Gamow was born in Russia in 1904 and died in the USA in 1968. He lived his life in a time between the twenties and the sixties, characterized by rapid developments in physics and became a key figure of that time. Gamow's true merits were seldom fully recognized. Yet his ideas are behind a number of Nobel Prizes for Physics during the past century. His remarkable achievements in Nuclear Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology were the result of a combination of expertise and creativity, intuition and, importantly, of a good sense of humor. Together they craft the image of a true revolutionary scientist. Gamow also had a natural talent for popularization and was throughout his life a successful science communicator.The figure of Gamow is interesting also from a cultural perspective. His life stretches across a critical period in our history and moves geographically from Russia to the USA, via Europe. His story provides insights into the complex dialogue between historical events and scientific developments during the twentieth century.Our book builds on the extensive interview that science historian Charles Weiner did with Gamow shortly before his death. Here Gamow offers a complete survey of his scientific achievements. Tapping onto their dialogue, we have enriched the picture of Gamow's figure with materials gathered also from other sources. First of all, we discuss his autobiography, in which Gamow mainly focuses on the education he received in Russia and on his experience as a young scientist in Europe. We contrast this with relevant writings about his, at times, controversial role in the scientific environment of his epoch. Altogether, these form a critical and complex representation of the life and character of this extraordinary scientist and human being.Related Link(s)
A curation of essays penned by Jeremy Bernstein, this book is a treasure trove of personal stories ranging from Bernstein's expedition to Mount Everest, cherished encounters with the fathers of Quantum Mechanics (Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac and Erwin Schrodinger), to a jovial collaboration with Freeman Dyson on the Orion spaceship project.This essay collection is a door into several pieces of scientific explorations as well as the celebrated life of Jeremy Bernstein, a physicist, professor and phenomenal writer. Readers will enjoy this book as both an autobiography and a popular science reading.
On the night of March 26, 1938, nuclear physicist Ettore Majorana boarded a ship, cash and passport in hand. He was never seen again. In "A Brilliant Darkness," theoretical physicist Joao Magueijo tells the story of Majorana and his research group, "the Via Panisperna Boys," who discovered atomic fission in 1934. As Majorana, the most brilliant of the group, began to realize the implications of what they had found, he became increasingly unstable. Did he commit suicide that night in Palermo? Was he kidnapped? Did he stage his own death? "A Brilliant Darkness" chronicles Majorana's invaluable contributions to science--including his major discovery, the Majorana neutrino--while revealing the truth behind his fascinating and tragic life.
Most discussions of the digital divide focus on the gap between African Americans and others when it comes to using, and benefiting from, the technological and business opportunities of the information age. Although many African Americans are locked out of the information revolution, others are an integral part of its development and progress. Barber profiles 26 of those leaders here, engagingly and informatively blending biography with insight and analysis. Most discussions of the digital divide focus on the gap between African Americans and others when it comes to using, and benefiting from, the technological and business opportunities of the information age. Although many African Americans are locked out of the information revolution, others are an integral part of its development and progress. Barber profiles 26 of them here, engagingly and informatively blending biography with insight and analysis. Documenting history as it is being made, this book features achievers in all fields of relevant endeavor, including scientists, business leaders, power brokers, and community leaders. Among them are Robert Johnson, CEO of Black Entertainment Television; Richard Parsons, CEO of AOL Time-Warner; congressmen and other policymakers in Washington, D.C.; and men and women who are working to bridge the digital divide in satellite radio, web-based portals, and on the ground with IT workshops. This book is not just about business success or technological progress. The African American digerati are solving one of the great social challenges of the 21st century: creating a black community that is prosperous in a society that has changed from being a land-based industrial society to a cyberspace-based information society.
A fast-paced, gripping insider account of the entrepreneurs and renegades racing to bring lab-grown meat to the world. The trillion-dollar meat industry is one of our greatest environmental hazards; it pollutes more than all the world's fossil-fuel-powered cars. Global animal agriculture is responsible for deforestation, soil erosion and more emissions than air travel, paper mills and coal mining combined. It also depends on the slaughter of more than 60 billion animals per year, a number that is only increasing as the global appetite for meat swells. The whole world seems to be sleepwalking into a food crisis. But a band of doctors, scientists, activists and entrepreneurs have been racing to end animal agriculture as we know it, hoping to fulfill a dream of creating meat without ever having to kill an animal. This is the story of a group of seven vegans quietly working to solve one the most pressing issues we face today, creating the biggest upheaval to the food business in decades along the way. In Billion Dollar Burger, Chase Purdy explores the companies at the cutting edge of the nascent food technology sector, from polarizing activist-turned-tech CEO Josh Tetrick to lobbyists and regulators on both sides of the issue. Billion Dollar Burger follows the people fighting to upend our food system as they butt up against the entrenched interests fighting viciously to stop them. It will take readers on a truly global journey from Silicon Valley to China, by way of Israel and the UK. The stakes are monumentally high: cell-cultured meat is the best hope for sustainable food production, a key to fighting climate change, a gold mine for the companies that make it happen and an existential threat for the farmers and meatpackers that make our meat today.
This is by far the most exhaustive biography on Niels Stensen, anatomist, geologist and bishop, better known as "Nicolaus Steno". We learn about the scientist's family and background in Lutheran Denmark, of his teachers at home and abroad, of his studies and travels in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia and Germany, of his many pioneering achievements in anatomy and geology, of his encounters with Swammerdam, Malpighi and with members of the newly established Royal Society of London and the Accademia del Cimento in Florence, and with the philosopher Spinoza. It further treats Stensen's religious conversion. The book includes the full set of Steno's anatomical and geological scientific papers in original language. The editors thoroughly translated the original Latin text to English, and included numerous footnotes on the background of this bibliographic and scientific treasure from the 17th century.
This Open Access biography chronicles the life and achievements of the Norwegian engineer and physicist Rolf Wideroe. Readers who meet him in the pages of this book will wonder why he isn't better known. The first of Wideroe's many pioneering contributions in the field of accelerator physics was the betatron, the second, the linear accelerator, both summarized in a 27 page PhD. The betatron revolutionized the fields of cancer treatment through radiation therapy and also nondestructive testing; hospitals worldwide installed Wideroe's machine and today's modern radiation treatment equipment is based on his inventions. The most recent renaissance of the linac provides unprecedented x-ray intensities at Free Electron Laser (FEL) facilities in operation and construction worldwide. . Wideroe's story also includes a fair share of drama, particularly during World War II when both Germans and the Allies vied for his collaboration. Wideroe held leading positions in multinational industry groups and was one of the consultants for building the world's largest nuclear laboratory, CERN, in Switzerland. He gained over 200 patents, received several honorary doctorates and a number of international awards. The author, a professional writer and maker of TV documentaries, has gained access to hitherto restricted archives in several countries, which provided a wealth of new material and insights, in particular in relation to the war years. She tells here a gripping and illuminating story.
This book, first published in 1991, is an invaluable guide to biographies of scientists from a wide variety of scientific fields. The books selected for this highly descriptive bibliography help librarians shatter readers' stereotypes of scientists as monomaniacal and uninteresting people by providing interesting and provocative titles to capture the interest of students and other readers. The biographies included in this very special bibliography were carefully selected for their humour and human insights to give future scientists encouragement, inspiration, and an understanding of the origins of particular scientific fields. These biographies are unique in that they explore the whole personality of the scientist, giving students a glimpse at the variety and drama of the lives beyond well-known contributions or Nobel prize accomplishments.
Stanley Deser is a preeminent theoretical physicist who made monumental contributions to general relativity, quantum field theory and high energy physics; he is a co-creator of supergravity. This is his personal story, intended for a broad, scientifically curious audience, with emphasis on the historic figures that defined the modern aspects of the field.Beginning with an account of his early life in Europe during the fateful period leading up to WW2, it continues with his family's dramatic escape from the Nazis through their arrival to the US. His education at public institutions including Brooklyn College nurtured his love of physics from an early age. He earned his PhD at Harvard and spent fruitful postdoc years at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Niels Bohr Institute, where he met many of the luminaries of the field. Then followed a long career at Brandeis University and many visits to foreign institutions.His work earned him many awards and led to exotic experiences detailed in the later chapters. The appendices contain semi-technical descriptions of some essential physics, as well as a more general commentary about the role of physics and physicists in understanding the universe.
Stanley Deser is a preeminent theoretical physicist who made monumental contributions to general relativity, quantum field theory and high energy physics; he is a co-creator of supergravity. This is his personal story, intended for a broad, scientifically curious audience, with emphasis on the historic figures that defined the modern aspects of the field.Beginning with an account of his early life in Europe during the fateful period leading up to WW2, it continues with his family's dramatic escape from the Nazis through their arrival to the US. His education at public institutions including Brooklyn College nurtured his love of physics from an early age. He earned his PhD at Harvard and spent fruitful postdoc years at the Institute for Advanced Study and the Niels Bohr Institute, where he met many of the luminaries of the field. Then followed a long career at Brandeis University and many visits to foreign institutions.His work earned him many awards and led to exotic experiences detailed in the later chapters. The appendices contain semi-technical descriptions of some essential physics, as well as a more general commentary about the role of physics and physicists in understanding the universe.
A curation of essays penned by Jeremy Bernstein, this book is a treasure trove of personal stories ranging from Bernstein's expedition to Mount Everest, cherished encounters with the fathers of Quantum Mechanics (Werner Heisenberg, Paul Dirac and Erwin Schrodinger), to a jovial collaboration with Freeman Dyson on the Orion spaceship project.This essay collection is a door into several pieces of scientific explorations as well as the celebrated life of Jeremy Bernstein, a physicist, professor and phenomenal writer. Readers will enjoy this book as both an autobiography and a popular science reading.
Travel back to the 1960s and walk the halls of Chicago's Cook County Hospital with Douglas R. Gracey, a medical intern eager to learn the ways of medicine, help patients and impress his colleagues. Back then, medical education was different. Diagnosis was not so certain, treatment options were severely limited and patients, for the most part, expected less from their doctors. The patients at Cook County Hospital had to deal with poverty, racial discrimination and social stigma in addition to the symptoms caused by their diseases. The county system was the only realistic option for pregnant black women and other marginalized members of society. The hospital also faces dilemma as they suffer from poor management, rampant patronage, payroll padding and contract rigging. Join Gracey in Chicago, where he must learn how to succeed in a broken system while providing care to his patients. Along the way, find out how medical education has changed in Intern in the Promised Land: True Stories from Cook County Hospital.
A "beautifully written" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) memoir-manifesto from the first female director of the National Science Foundation about the entrenched sexism in science, the elaborate detours women have take to bypass the problem, and how to fix the system. If you think sexism thrives only on Wall Street or Hollywood, you haven't visited a lab, a science department, a research foundation, or a biotech firm. Rita Colwell is one of the top scientists in America: the groundbreaking microbiologist who discovered how cholera survives between epidemics and the former head of the National Science Foundation. But when she first applied for a graduate fellowship in bacteriology, she was told, "We don't waste fellowships on women." A lack of support from some male superiors would lead her to change her area of study six times before completing her PhD. A Lab of One's Own is an "engaging" (Booklist) book that documents all Colwell has seen and heard over her six decades in science, from sexual harassment in the lab to obscure systems blocking women from leading professional organizations or publishing their work. Along the way, she encounters other women pushing back against the status quo, including a group at MIT who revolt when they discover their labs are a fraction of the size of their male colleagues. Resistance gave female scientists special gifts: forced to change specialties so many times, they came to see things in a more interdisciplinary way, which turned out to be key to making new discoveries in the 20th and 21st centuries. Colwell would also witness the advances that could be made when men and women worked together--often under her direction, such as when she headed a team that helped to uncover the source of anthrax used in the 2001 letter attacks. A Lab of One's Own is "an inspiring read for women embarking on a career or experiencing career challenges" (Library Journal, starred review) that shares the sheer joy a scientist feels when moving toward a breakthrough, and the thrill of uncovering a whole new generation of female pioneers. It is the science book for the #MeToo era, offering an astute diagnosis of how to fix the problem of sexism in science--and a celebration of women pushing back.
Ride in the back of the ambulance with Sherry Jones Mayo
Like the "funny, brilliant, bawdy" (The New Yorker) "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" this book's many stories-some funny, others intensely moving-display Richard P. Feynman's unquenchable thirst for adventure and unparalleled ability to recount important moments from his life. Here we meet Feynman's first wife, Arlene, who taught him of love's irreducible mystery as she lay dying in a hospital bed while he worked on the atomic bomb at nearby Los Alamos. We listen to the fascinating narrative of the investigation into the space shuttle Challenger's explosion in 1986 and relive the moment when Feynman revealed the disaster's cause through an elegant experiment: dropping a ring of rubber into a glass of cold water and pulling it out, misshapen. In "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" one of the greatest physicists of the twentieth century lets us see the man behind the genius.
Hamilton Bailey was a legendary figure during his lifetime. He is still perceived as a great surgeon, though his fame rests less upon his prowess in the operating theatre than on his qualities as a writer and teacher. His textbooks, although constantly rewritten and updated, still command worldwide sales. Of all those who have ever written about surgery, Bailey is without doubt by far the most widely read. A large, strong man, with an air of self-confidence and authority, he had no difficulty in dominating those around him, but this imposing physique concealed a troubled and fragile mind. There was a family background of mental illness, and an accumulation of stresses and tragedies finally broke him down. What followed represents one of the most remarkable case histories in twentieth-century psychiatry. Originally published in 1999, this biography tells the story of Bailey's extraordinary life, in the light of much fresh evidence and original research.
Discover the exhilarating true story of Ernest Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition Told through the words of the world's greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes - one of the only men to understand his experience first-hand . . . 'For anyone with a passion for polar exploration, this is a must read' NEW YORK TIMES 'THE definitive book on Shackleton and no one could have done it better . . . an authentic account by one of the few men who truly knows what it's like to challenge Antarctica' LORRAINE KELLY _________ In 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton's attempt to be the first to traverse the Antarctic was cut short when his ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice. He and his crew should have died. Instead, through a long, dark winter, Shackleton fought back: enduring sub-zero temperatures, a perilous lifeboat journey across icy seas, and a murderous march over glaciers to seek help. Shackleton's epic trek is one of history's most enthralling adventures. But who was he? How did previous Antarctic expeditions and his rivalry with Captain Scott forge him? And what happened afterwards to the man many believed was invincible? In this astonishing account, Fiennes brings the story vividly to life in a book that is part celebration, part vindication and all adventure. _________ 'Fiennes makes a fine guide on voyage into Shackleton's world . . . What makes this book so engaging is the author's own storytelling skills' Irish Independent 'Fiennes relates these tales of exploration and survival, adding insight to Shackleton's journeys unlike any other biographer' Radio Times Praise for Sir Ranulph Fiennes: 'The World's Greatest Living Explorer' Guinness Book of Records 'Full of awe-inspiring details of hardship, resolve and weather that defies belief, told by someone of unique authority. No one is more tailor-made to tell [this] story than Sir Ranulph Fiennes' Newsday 'Fiennes' own experiences certainly allow him to write vividly and with empathy of the hell that the men went through' Sunday Times 'Fiennes brings the promised perspective of one who has been there, illuminating Shackleton's actions by comparing them with his own. Beginners to the Heroic Age will enjoy this volume, as will serious polar adventurers seeking advice. For all readers, it's a tremendous story' Sara Wheeler, The Wall Street Journal
Learn why NASA astronaut Mike Collins calls this extraordinary space race story "the best book on Apollo" this inspiring and intimate ode to ingenuity celebrates one of the most daring feats in human history. When the alarm went off forty thousand feet above the moon's surface, both astronauts looked down at the computer to see 1202 flashing on the readout. Neither of them knew what it meant, and time was running out . . . On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. One of the world's greatest technological achievements -- and a triumph of the American spirit -- the Apollo 11 mission was a mammoth undertaking involving more than 410,000 men and women dedicated to winning the space race against the Soviets. Set amid the tensions and upheaval of the sixties and the Cold War, Shoot for the Moon is a gripping account of the dangers, the challenges, and the sheer determination that defined not only Apollo 11, but also the Mercury and Gemini missions that came before it. From the shock of Sputnik and the heart-stopping final minutes of John Glenn's Mercury flight to the deadly whirligig of Gemini 8, the doomed Apollo 1 mission, and that perilous landing on the Sea of Tranquility -- when the entire world held its breath while Armstrong and Aldrin battled computer alarms, low fuel, and other problems -- James Donovan tells the whole story. Both sweeping and intimate, Shoot for the Moon is "a powerfully written and irresistible celebration" of one of humankind's most extraordinary accomplishments (Booklist, starred review).
A New Statesman Book of the Year for 2017 His father conceived of the Brooklyn Bridge, but it was Washington Roebling who built this iconic feat of human engineering after his father's tragic death. It has stood for more than 130 years and is now as much a part of New York as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. Yet, as recognisable as the bridge is, its builder is too often forgotten. The Chief Engineer is a brilliant examination of the life of one of America's most distinguished engineers. Roebling's experience as an engineer building bridges in the Union Army during the civil War has never before been documented, and played a central role in the bridge that links Brooklyn and Manhattan. The Brooklyn Bridge took fourteen dramatic years to complete, and the personal story that lay behind that construction is told here for the first time. The Chief Engineer is an engaging portrait of a brilliant and driven man, and of the era in which he lived. Meticulously researched, and written with revealing archival material only recently uncovered, including Washington Roebling's own memoir that was previously thought to be lost to history, in The Chief Engineer Erica Wagner relates the fascinating history of the bridge and its maker.
In 1853, Langstroth published The Hive and the Honey-Bee (Northampton (Massachusetts): Hopkins, Bridgman, 1853), which provided practical advice on bee management and, is the basis of this publication. Langstroth revolutionized the beekeeping industry by using bee space in his top-opening hive. In the summer of 1851 he found that, by leaving an even, approximately bee-sized space between the top of the frames holding the honeycomb and the flat coverboard above, he was able quite easily to remove the coverboard, which was normally well cemented to the frames with propolis, making separation hard to achieve. He later used this discovery to make the frames themselves easily removable. If a small space was left (less than 1/4 inch or 6.4 mm) the bees filled it with propolis; on the other hand, when a larger space was left (more than 3/8 inch or 9.5 mm) the bees filled it with comb. On 5 October 1852, Langstroth received a patent on the first movable frame beehive in America. A Philadelphia cabinetmaker, Henry Bourquin, a fellow bee enthusiast, made Langstroth's first hives for him and by 1852 Langstroth had more than a hundred of these hives and began selling them where he could. Langstroth spent many years attempting to defend his patent without success. He never earned any royalties because the patent was easily and widely infringed. Langstroth hives are still in common use today.
'Long, thin, and cool as hell' was how parasitologist Thomas Platt described the new genus and species of trematode (Baracktrema obamai) he named in honor of the 44th USA president and his 5th cousin, Barack Obama. The story of Baracktrema was picked up by over 200 news outlets worldwide, providing a fitting swansong to an illustrious career revisited in this part-personal and part-scientific memoir.Platt's road to success was not initially smooth. Faced with a brutal tenure rejection at the start of his career, he was told that 'You are not the type of person we want to invest in for the next 30 years.' After a brief stint in the business world, Platt bounced back in spectacular fashion by embarking on a successful 28-year career at Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana. He traveled extensively in search of new species of parasitic worms, from neighboring Costa Rica to the far-flung reaches of Australia and Malaysia. His love of turtles and their parasites led to the discovery of 30 new species, 11 new genera, and international recognition. He provides perspectives on the places and people encountered along the way, details of interactions with wildlife, as well as interesting and accessible insights into parasite behavior in the external environment and with their hosts.SMALL SCIENCE is an inspiring story of an unexceptional high school student's path through college, graduate school, the academy, and a successful research career in 'small science' - the science of parasites, and the science of work accomplished in the margins, in the time carved out from a heavy teaching load, committee assignments, and mentoring dedicated undergraduate women in the joy of scientific discovery.
'Long, thin, and cool as hell' was how parasitologist Thomas Platt described the new genus and species of trematode (Baracktrema obamai) he named in honor of the 44th USA president and his 5th cousin, Barack Obama. The story of Baracktrema was picked up by over 200 news outlets worldwide, providing a fitting swansong to an illustrious career revisited in this part-personal and part-scientific memoir.Platt's road to success was not initially smooth. Faced with a brutal tenure rejection at the start of his career, he was told that 'You are not the type of person we want to invest in for the next 30 years.' After a brief stint in the business world, Platt bounced back in spectacular fashion by embarking on a successful 28-year career at Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana. He traveled extensively in search of new species of parasitic worms, from neighboring Costa Rica to the far-flung reaches of Australia and Malaysia. His love of turtles and their parasites led to the discovery of 30 new species, 11 new genera, and international recognition. He provides perspectives on the places and people encountered along the way, details of interactions with wildlife, as well as interesting and accessible insights into parasite behavior in the external environment and with their hosts.SMALL SCIENCE is an inspiring story of an unexceptional high school student's path through college, graduate school, the academy, and a successful research career in 'small science' - the science of parasites, and the science of work accomplished in the margins, in the time carved out from a heavy teaching load, committee assignments, and mentoring dedicated undergraduate women in the joy of scientific discovery. |
You may like...
Lore Of Nutrition - Challenging…
Tim Noakes, Marika Sboros
Paperback
(4)
|