Showing titles in Science & Technology

His face is instantly recognisable. His name is shorthand for genius. Today, he's a figurehead as much as a man, symbolic of things larger than himself: of scientific progress, of the human mind, even of the age. But who was Einstein really? The Nobel Prize-winning physicist who discovered relativity, black holes and E = mc2, dined with Charlie Chaplin in Hollywood and was the inspiration for element 99, Albert Einstein was also a high school dropout with an FBI file 1,400 pages long. In this audiobook, Samuel Graydon's writing brings history's most famous scientist back to life.

Chi sono gli scienziati che hanno rivoluzionato la storia dell'umanità? Erano davvero dei "geni"? Barbascura X non ha dubbi al riguardo: non solo non lo erano, ma a ben vedere erano anche degli idioti. Pochi sanno delle boiate dette da Democrito, delle folli pratiche alchemiche di Newton, di quante idee si sia fatto fregare quel sociopatico di Tesla o di quanti sbagli abbia commesso Einstein. Quelli che definiamo geni non sono altro che esseri umani appassionati, instancabili ricercatori di conoscenza, con alle spalle un quantitativo inimmaginabile di errori.

John Dee was one of the greatest scientific minds of his time, but also one of the most controversial. He was a learned man in fields as varied as mathematics and astronomy, centuries before they became formalized fields of study, but he is better remembered for performing magic and alchemy. Instead of astronomy, he became renowned across England for astrology, and he was one of the country’s most notorious occult writers during his life.

As Carl Sagan did for astronomy and Brian Green did for cosmology, Walter Lewin takes listeners on a marvelous journey in For the Love of Physics, opening our eyes as never before to the amazing beauty and power with which physics can reveal the hidden workings of the world all around us. "I introduce people to their own world," writes Lewin, "the world they live in and are familiar with but don't approach like a physicist - yet."

Pulitzer Prize winner Wallace Stegner recounts the remarkable career of Major John Wesley Powell, the distinguished ethnologist and geologist who explored the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, and the homeland of the Southwest Indian tribes. This classic work is a penetrating and insightful study of the Powell’s career, from the beginning of the Powell Survey, in which Powell and his men famously became the first to descend the Colorado River, to his eventual expulsion from the Geological Survey.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Messy Middle written and read by Scott Belsky. Silicon Valley is full of start-up success stories; every day stories emerge of a new company with the potential for a billion-dollar valuation and plans for global domination. But what can we really...

A young queer millennial physicist unveils some of the most mind-bending physics concepts in the universe—and uses them to illuminate their own fascinating life story “I see physics everywhere,” Karmela Padavic-Callaghan writes. “It offers itself to me when I try to make sense of all the...

Bloomsbury presents Empire of Imagination by Michael Witwer, read by Sam Witwer. The first comprehensive biography of geek and gaming culture's mythic icon, Gary Gygax, and the complete story behind his invention of Dungeons & Dragons. The life story of Gary Gygax, godfather of all fantasy...

In October 1968 Donn Eisele flew with fellow astronauts Walt Cunningham and Wally Schirra into Earth orbit in Apollo 7. The first manned mission in the Apollo program and the first manned flight after a fire during a launch pad test killed three astronauts in early 1967, Apollo 7 helped restart NASA's manned-spaceflight program.

Once one of Silicon Valley's greatest success stories, for the past five years, Facebook has been under constant fire, roiled by controversies and crises. It turns out that while the tech giant was connecting the world, they were also mishandling users' data, allowing the spread of fake news and the amplification of dangerous, polarising hate speech. Critics framed the narrative as the irreconcilable conflict between the platform's lofty mission to advance society by bringing people together while also profiting off of them. But the truth is far more complex. 

Der Alchemist von der Pfaueninsel. Das neue Buch des Bestseller-Autors und "großen Geschichtenerzählers" (Süddeutsche Zeitung) Tauchen wir ein in die großen Träume eines großen Mannes: Johannes Kunckel ist ein Magier und Alchemist, der daran glaubt, Gold zaubern zu können. Der preußische König schenkt ihm deshalb die Pfaueninsel zwischen Potsdam und Berlin, damit er im Geheimen in seiner Zauberwerkstatt aus dem Feuer eine neue Welt erschaffen kann. Aus seinem Ofen entsteigt am Ende ein Glas, wie es zuvor kein Menschenauge je gesehen hatte: rot wie ein Rubin.

Drawing on 40 years of research and a treasure trove of new information, Tesla: Wizard at War provides a comprehensive view of Tesla's discoveries, which continue to influence today's military technology and diplomatic strategies. One of the world's leading Tesla experts, Marc J. Seifer, offers new insight into the brilliant scientist's particle beam weapon (aka the "Death Ray") and explores his military negotiations with pivotal historical figures - including his links to Joseph Stalin, Vannevar Bush, General Andrew McNaughton, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

Brought to you by Penguin 'Today I woke up on Earth. And I will fall asleep in space' In space the sun rises and sets 16 times a day. You fly over every sea, every mountain and desert, every city and every port. The most ordinary things -- eating, sleeping, brushing your teeth or cutting your...

"The Life and Legacy of Alan Turing" is a comprehensive exploration of the life, contributions, and struggles of one of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century. This biography delves into Turing's early years, his groundbreaking work in mathematics and cryptography, and his profound impact on the development of computer science and artificial intelligence, while also examining the societal challenges he faced as a gay man in a time of widespread discrimination.

Arranged in chronological order, the book covers key themes in the physical and natural sciences, such as geochemistry and the elements. Within each chapter, a series of articles traces the history of scientific thought and introduces the work of the scientists who have shaped the subject such as John Dalton, Marie Curie, Dmitri Mendeleev, Kathleen Lonsdale and Stephanie Kwolek. Along the way, the audiobook addresses some of the most fundamental questions in science, such as what is the universe made of, how is matter created and what are the chemical bonds that make life possible?

'A thrilling account' - Walter Isaacson Musk versus Bezos. China versus the United States. The government versus the private sector. Welcome to the rivalries and alliances defining the New Space Age. At stake? Billions of dollars, national prestige, and a place in the history books. A fleet of...

To his colleagues, Richard Feynman was not so much a genius as he was a full-blown magician: someone who “does things that nobody else could do and that seem completely unexpected.” The path he cleared for twentieth-century physics led from the making of the atomic bomb to a Nobel...

From Leonardo Da Vinci to John Dee and Comenius, from George Eliot to Oliver Sacks and Susan Sontag, polymaths have moved the frontiers of knowledge in countless ways. But history can be unkind to scholars with such encyclopaedic interests. All too often these individuals are remembered for just one part of their valuable achievements. In this engaging, erudite account, renowned cultural historian Peter Burke argues for a more rounded view. 

Inspired by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and Bertrand Russell and David Hilbert's pursuit of the fundamental rules of mathematics, some of the most brilliant minds of the generation came together in post-World War I Vienna to present the latest theories in mathematics, science, and philosophy and to build a strong foundation for scientific investigation. Composed of such luminaries as Kurt Gödel and Rudolf Carnap, and stimulated by the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper, the Vienna Circle left an indelible mark on science.   

Stephen Hawking has dazzled listeners worldwide with a string of best-sellers exploring the mysteries of the universe. Now, for the first time, the most brilliant cosmologist of our age turns his gaze inwards for a revealing look at his own life and intellectual evolution. My Brief History recounts Stephen Hawking’s improbable journey, from his post-war London boyhood to his years of international acclaim and celebrity.