A keen presentation of the arguments behind key issues of science and religion, designed to enable readers to make their own informed decisions on what they believe

In this thorough and engaging exploration into the worlds of science and faith alike, eminent scientist Russell Stannard presents nine probing chapters--creation, evolution, intelligent design, extraterrestrial intelligence, psychology, morality, miracles, the anthropic principle, and the relationship between science and belief. Presented simply and without bias, each opens with quotations from ordinary people expressing typical views on all sides of the argument, followed by Stannard delving deeper into the issues, presenting the case from all sides, and asking questions to enable the reader to make up his or her own mind.

As an eminent scientist, Stannard agrees with the New Atheists that we cannot prove the existence of God from a study of the physical world

Mr. Tompkins is back! The mild-mannered bank clerk with the short attention span and vivid imagination has inspired, charmed, and informed young and old alike since the publication of the hugely successful Mr Tompkins in Paperback (by George Gamow) in 1965. Now, this highly affable character returns to embark on a set of adventures that explore the extreme edges of the universe--the smallest, the largest, the fastest, and the farthest. Just by following the experiences and dreams of Mr. Tompkins, readers discover and come to know the merry dance of cosmic mysteries, including: Einstein's theory of relativity, bizarre effects near light-speed, the birth and death of the universe, black holes, quarks, space warps and antimatter, the fuzzy world of the quantum, and that ultimate cosmic mystery--love. The story of Mr. Tompkins' journey to the frontiers of modern physics will delight and inform all readers. Russell Stannard is a best-selling popular science writer and the author of the critically acclaimed Uncle Albert series of science books for children.

Who will solve the riddle of the quantum? Could it be you? Join Uncle Albert's niece Gedanken as she drinks from the magic bottle and shrinks down into the tiny world of jumping quarks and electrons. Help her and the White Rabbit explore a wonderland of light and matter where nothing is what it seems. Even today scientists remain baffled by their discoveries!

Mr. Tompkins is back! The mild-mannered bank clerk with the short attention span and vivid imagination has inspired, charmed, and informed young and old alike since the publication of the hugely successful Mr Tompkins in Paperback (by George Gamow) in 1965. Now, this highly affable character returns to embark on a set of adventures that explore the extreme edges of the universe--the smallest, the largest, the fastest, and the farthest. Just by following the experiences and dreams of Mr. Tompkins, readers discover and come to know the merry dance of cosmic mysteries, including: Einstein's theory of relativity, bizarre effects near light-speed, the birth and death of the universe, black holes, quarks, space warps and antimatter, the fuzzy world of the quantum, and that ultimate cosmic mystery--love. The story of Mr. Tompkins' journey to the frontiers of modern physics will delight and inform all readers. Russell Stannard is a best-selling popular science writer and the author of the critically acclaimed Uncle Albert series of science books for children.

The Time and Space of Uncle Albert is book one in the bestselling Uncle Albert science and adventure series. Famous scientist Uncle Albert and his niece Gedanken enter the dangerous and unknown world of a thought bubble. Their mission: to unlock the deep mysteries of Time and Space... In this action-packed adventure story, discover why you can't break the ultimate speed barrier, find out how to become older than your mother, how to put on weight without getting fat, and how to live forever without even knowing it. When you have enjoyed The Time and Space of Uncle Albert you may also like Uncle Albert and the Quantum Test, book two in the Uncle Albert series.

This science fiction adventure story is set in the country of Erasia, on planet Orb. Here time runs backwards. You are raised up out of the ground as an old person full of experience, knowing everything about the future. As you dutifully follow through the main events of your life, as mapped out for you by the Goddess of the underworld from where you came, all knowledge of them is progressively erased. Ultimately, as a helpless baby knowing nothing, you are inserted in your mother's womb. Nine months later: oblivion. But the man, Nomolos, yearns for the freedom to decide for himself what he should do with his life. This sets him on a collision course with the sinister Portent Enforcement Agency...

Book Two in the best-selling Uncle Albert science/adventure series. Uncle Albert and his intrepid niece, Gedanken, make some astonishing discoveries when they set out on their next mission: to investigate the universe...Discover, in this adventure story set in deepest space, black holes that swallow up everything, tape measures that shrink when you take them downstairs, speeded-up time, and how it is that you are made of stardust.

If you move at high speed, time slows down, space squashes up and you get heavier. Travel fast enough and you could weigh as much as a jumbo jet, be flattened thinner than a CD without feeling a thing-and live forever As for the angles of a triangle, they do not always have to add up to 180 degrees. And then, of course, there are black holes. These are but a few of the extraordinary consequences of Einstein's theory of relativity. It is now over a hundred years since he made these discoveries, and yet the general public is still largely unaware of them. Filled with illuminating anecdotes and fascinating accounts of experiments, this book aims to introduce the interested lay person to the subject of relativity in a way which is accessible and engaging and at the same time scientifically rigorous. With relatively few mathematical equations--nothing more complicated than the Pythagoras's Theorem--this VSI packs a lot time into very little space, and for anyone who has felt intimidated by Einstein's groundbreaking theory, it offers the perfect place to start.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.