All physicists are familiar with Hooke's law of springs, but few will know of his theory of combustion, that his Micrographia was the first book on microscopy, that his astronomical observations were some of the best seen at the time, that he contributed to the knowledge of respiration, insect flight and the properties of gases, that his work on gravitation preceded that of Newton's, that he invented the universal joint, and that he was an architect of distinction and a surveyor for the City of London after the Great Fire. England's Leonardo is a biography of Hooke covering all aspects of his work, from his early life on the Isle of Wight through his time at Oxford University, where he became part of a group who would form the original Fellowship of the Royal Society. The author adopts a novel approach at this stage, dividing the book by chapter according to the fields of research-Physiology, Engineering, Microscopy, Astronomy, Geology, and Optics-in which Hooke applied himself. The book concludes with a chapter considering the legacy of Hooke and his impact on science.

'An irresistible biography of one of Oxford's most colourful characters.' John Hedley Brooke In 1824, William Buckland stood in front of the Royal Geological Society and told them about the bones he had been studying - the bones of an enormous, lizard-like creature, that he called Megalosaurus. This was the first full account of a dinosaur. During his life, Buckland would also demonstrate changes in the earth's climate, champion health reform, wage war on slum landlords, and become infamous for eating everything he could, even a mummified human heart. Yet his name has been largely, and unjustly, forgotten. In this brilliantly entertaining, colourful biography - the first to be written for over a century - Allan Chapman brings William Buckland back into the light and explores his fascinating life in full. From his pioneering of geology and agricultural science to becoming Dean of Westminster, Caves, Coprolites and Catastrophes reveals a giant of intellect whose achievements helped revolutionise the British scientific community. Carefully balancing Buckland's more eccentric escapades with his scientific prowess and the clash between science and religion in the 19th Century, Caves, Coprolites and Catastrophes is vivid, informative and thoroughly compelling. A captivating story packed full of compelling insights into the world of Victorian science and its relationship with the Christian faith, Caves, Coprolites and Catastrophes is an unmissable biography of an exceptional scientist whose legacy extends down to this day.

From earliest times, man has struggled to control his environment and his fate, and a big part of that has always been his health. From the ancients onwards, the study of medicine, including surgery, has exercised some of the greatest minds - and brought profits to some of the less great. Drawing on sources across Europe and beyond, including the huge contributions to medicine made in medieval Arabia and India, Chapman takes us on a whirlwind tour of what was known when, and what impact it had.

All physicists are familiar with Hooke's law of springs, but few will know of his theory of combustion, that his Micrographia was the first book on microscopy, that his astronomical observations were some of the best seen at the time, that he contributed to the knowledge of respiration, insect flight and the properties of gases, that his work on gravitation preceded that of Newton's, that he invented the universal joint, and that he was an architect of distinction and a surveyor for the City of London after the Great Fire. England's Leonardo is a biography of Hooke covering all aspects of his work, from his early life on the Isle of Wight through his time at Oxford University, where he became part of a group who would form the original Fellowship of the Royal Society. The author adopts a novel approach at this stage, dividing the book by chapter according to the fields of research-Physiology, Engineering, Microscopy, Astronomy, Geology, and Optics-in which Hooke applied himself. The book concludes with a chapter considering the legacy of Hooke and his impact on science.

This book will take the story of astronomy on from where Allan Chapman left it in Stargazers, and bring it almost up to date, with the developments and discoveries of the last three centuries. He covers the big names - Halley, Hooke, Herschel, Hubble and Hoyle; and includes the women who pushed astronomy forward, from Caroline Herschel to the Victorian women astronomers. He includes the big discoveries and the huge ideas, from the Milky War, to the Big Bang, the mighty atom, and the question of life on other planets. And he brings in the contributions made in the US, culminating in their race with the USSR to get a man on the moon, before turning to the explosion of interest in astronomy that was pioneered by Sir Patrick Moore and The Sky at Night.

Since the dawn of time, man has sought to improve his health and that of his neighbour. The human race, around the world, has been on a long and complex journey, seeking to find out how our bodies work, and what heals them. Embarking on a four-thousand-year odyssey, science historian Allan Chapman brings to life the origin and development of medicine and surgery. Writing with pace and rigorous accuracy, he investigates how we have battled against injury and disease, and provides a gripping and highly readable account of the various victories and discoveries along the way. Drawing on sources from across Europe and beyond, Chapman discusses the huge contributions to medicine made by the Greeks, the Romans, the early medieval Arabs, and above all by Western Christendom, looking at how experiment, discovery, and improving technology impact upon one another to produce progress. This is a fascinating, insightful read, enlivened with many colourful characters and memorable stories of inspired experimenters, theatrical surgeons, student pranks, body-snatchers, 'mad-doctors', quacks, and charitable benefactors.

Mary Somerville (1780-1872), after whom Somerville College Oxford was named, was the first woman scientist to win an international reputation entirely in her own right, rather than through association with a scientific brother or father. She was active in astronomy, one of the most demanding areas of science of the day, and flourished in the unique British tradition of Grand Amateurs, who paid their own way and were not affiliated with any academic institution. Mary Somerville was to science what Jane Austen was to literature and Frances Trollope to travel writing. Allan Chapman's vivid account brings to light the story of an exceptional woman, whose achievements in a field dominated by men deserve to be very widely known.

In a year that will probably be remembered almost as much for books about the millennium as for the turn of 2000 A.D itself, Patrick Moore's Millennium Yearbook celebrates.....well, the wrong millennium! This thoroughly entertaining book - which is for everyone, not just astronomers - contains articles on King Alfred's chronological work, reviews of the new Star Catalogue by the Arab Al-Sufi and the latest edition of Ptolemy's Almagast. And foreshadowing the change to metric units by 1000 years, the book uses arabic numbers instead of Roman - but there is a conversion table if you have trouble with the idea of "zero" and prefer the older system.

Are science and faith, particularly Christianity, inevitably in conflict, as the New Atheists proclaim? Have they not always been so? Weren't early scientists hounded for their discoveries until Darwin burst on the scene and sent faith packing? Not if you look at the facts, says Dr Allan Chapman, who teaches the History of Science at the University of Oxford. History shows us that Galileo was not the victim of Church persecution - nor did Huxley "win" the debate with Wilberforce. Drawing on contemporary sources, Dr Chapman proves that the history of science and of faith always have been closely intertwined. From the leading scientists of medieval times, many in Holy Orders, to the seventeenth-century Popes who maintained an astronomical observatory in the Vatican, to the Christian people of science today, science and faith have grown up together.

Nick Shepherd survives the terrorist attack, but becomes the prime suspect. In his quest to unmask the true perpetrators, Nick runs into trouble at UNRC, the oil company where he works, Stanford University, his alma mater, and even at home. He loses his way, but then embarks on a new, spiritual path which stretches him beyond his imagination.

This fascinating and unique history reveals the major influence of the Oxford Chemistry School on the advancement of chemistry. It shows how the nature of the University, and individuals within it, have shaped the school and made great achievements both in teaching and research. The book will appeal to those interested in the history of science and education, the city of Oxford and chemistry in general. Chemistry has been studied in Oxford for centuries but this book focuses on the last 400 years and, in particular, the seminal work of Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke, and the proto- Royal Society of the 1650's. Arranged in chronological fashion, it includes specialist studies of particular areas of innovation. The book shows that chemistry has advanced, not just as a consequence of research but, because of the idiosynchratic nature of the collegiate system and the characters of the individuals involved. In other words, it demonstrates that science is a human endeavour and its advance in any institution is conditioned by the organization and people within it. For chemists, the main appeal will be the book's examination of the way separate branches of chemistry (organic, physical, inorganic and biological) have evolved in Oxford. It also enables comparison with the development of the subject at other universities such as Cambridge, London and Manchester. For historians and sociologists, the book reveals the motivations of both scientists and non-scientists in the management of the School. It exposes the unusual character of Oxford University and the tensions between science and administration. The desire of the college to retain its academic values in the face of external and financial pressures is emphasized.